On the night of Saturday, November 18, Finland closed four checkpoints on the border with the Russian Federation. There were some incidents: Finnish border guards had to stop a group of people with tear gas.
The Finnish publication Yle reports the details.
Tear gas incident
According to Finnish border guards, on the evening of November 17, 30 people arrived at the Niirala checkpoint from Russia on foot and on bicycles.
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These people tried to cross the border into Finland, but the border guards stopped them.
But not everyone complied with the demands of the border guards. One of the group members tried to run past the border guards, prompting them to fire tear gas.
The border service explained that the group of people did not respond to the instructions of the border guards. And there was no clarity about the intentions of some of these people.
“There was a group that did not obey the orders and calls of the border guards. There was no information about the intentions of several people or whether they planned to leave. To bring the situation under control, it was necessary to use the mildest means of force, which in this case was tear gas, the border guards explained.
The victim was given first aid and is feeling well. The situation returned to normal after that, and a group of people were taken to border control. Border guards are determining whether these people are asylum seekers.
Border guards knew in advance about the approach of the group using sensors and were prepared for such situations.
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A total of 163 asylum seekers arrived at border crossings that closed on Friday.
What is known about the closure of checkpoints between Finland and the Russian Federation
The Finnish government has closed half of the checkpoints on the border with the Russian Federation in response to a surge in illegal migration. Since November 18, four of the eight locations have been closed: Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala.
The restrictions will remain in effect until February 18, 2024. If necessary, they can be extended.
Concrete barriers, metal fences, and barbed wire fences were installed at closed checkpoints. In addition, the barriers there were lowered.
Two border points remain open to process asylum requests: Salla and Vartius. In addition, the Raja-Jooseppi and Kuusamo points will continue to operate.
This is how the Finnish authorities responded to the increase in the number of illegal migrants from the Russian Federation. Among them were many citizens of the Middle East and Africa without visas.
According to the Finnish Border Guard, 280 asylum seekers have arrived at the border since September. The authorities regard this situation as a serious threat to national security.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo accused the Russian Federation of deliberately trying to destabilize the situation in the country in response to its accession to NATO.
And Finnish President Sauli Niiniste and German leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Russia is deliberately helping refugees cross the border to destabilize Western countries.
Recently, cyclists from the Russian Federation were no longer allowed into Finland. This is because illegal migrants often tried to cross the border on bicycles.
In September, cars with Russian registration were no longer allowed to cross the Finnish border.
