The small town of Dieveniskes in a pocket of Lithuania surrounded by Belarus has risen up in protest against the government’s plan to house some 500 detained migrants in a disused building 24 metres from a local school.
Dozens of its residents have tried to prevent the construction workers from turning it into a temporary housing facility.
The chief of the Lithuanian police and high ranking government officials arrived on Friday to talk to about a hundred of its residents staging a protest.
The influx of migrants from Belarus continues unabated.
Ninety-two were detained on Thursday and the authorities are struggling to find quarantine facilities and expand detention centers.
Dieveniskes is situated on a small piece of land protruding into Belarus, which almost surrounds it completely.
It’s connected to the rest of Lithuania by a 2.5km-wide strip of land with a single road.
Many of the town’s 600 residents are up in arms, with the local council unanimously backing a resolution against the migrants.
Related posts:
Views: 0