The head of Latvia's border guard has accused authorities in neighboring Belarus of supporting migrants trying to cross into the EU member state.

"Without the knowledge of Belarusian officials and without their attention, it would at least be impossible for such a number [of people] to reach the border of Belarus unnoticed, stay there and cross the border illegally," chief Guntis Pujats said on television following an operation by police and border guards on Tuesday.

That day, Latvian authorities arrested a total of 46 migrants following an hour-long chase of a fake police vehicle -- reportedly complete with flashing blue lights and special paintwork, according to state media LSM.

Two migrants reportedly received gunshot wounds, while a third member of the group was also injured. Forty-three people were reportedly forced back to Belarus. According to the news agency dpa, a driver was later arrested in the van.

The intercepted migrants were Somali nationals, dpa reported, citing Latvian authorities.

Pujats alleged that it's "clear" that irregular migration is "mainly coordinated by the Belarusian services." The border guard chief also accused the Belarusian security forces of working with smugglers and organized crime.

'Legalized' human rights violations

Earlier this month, a representative of Latvia's State Border Guard told InfoMigrants that based on intelligence and interviews with migrants, Belarusian authorities typically turn a blind eye to people trying to cross the border -- and in some cases actively support them.

"If they see migrants, they don't detain them, they just let them cut the hole [in the fence]," Vladimirs Shersts said. He also said he was in possession of video files showing that Belarusian border guards "transport groups of migrants to different parts of the border."

Shersts said border guards first check whether migrants need food, water or medical assistance before returning them, and that border guards only use force when migrants refuse to be taken back to Belarus or when they use force themselves.

However, human rights violations by Latvian authorities, including secret detention and torture, have been documented in reports by Amnesty. Several migrants InfoMigrants spoke to also reported beatings and other disproportionate use of force by Latvian border guards.

According to Anna Grike of the Latvian group 'I Want to Help Refugees' (Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem), legislation passed in June 2023 allows police and border guards to beat migrants as well as use electro shocks and dogs on them, among other things. "What's puzzling to me is that since these things are legal, why is it that when Amnesty publishes a report, the border guard still denies it?"

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Deadly migration route

Latvia's border with Russia's close ally Belarus is around 172 kilometers long and forms part of the EU's external border. A double mesh fence topped with barbed wire stretches along the whole distance.

Despite this obstacle, so far this year, more than 4,600 migrants have made it across and were subsequently returned -- compared with 13,800 during all of last year, according to border guards. The pushbacks, which are illegal under EU and international law, have been repeatedly criticized by NGOs and UN agencies.

Western countries have long accused the Belarusian leadership of trying to destabilize the EU by helping migrants across the EU external border. Belarusian ruler Lukashenko has repeatedly rejected the accusations.

EU members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland authorized pushbacks and fortified their borders with Belarus following the emergence of the Belarus route in August 2021. The large numbers of mainly Middle Eastern migrants crossing irregularly into the EU from Belarus resulted in thousands becoming stranded in border regions for months.

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More than 115 people are known to have died on the EU-Belarusian border over the past three years. The real number is likely a lot higher.

with dpa