irregular migration

• Germany
• Poland

The number of people coming irregularly to Germany from Poland via Belarus is rising, according to a media report citing the German Interior Ministry. Germany's federal police are apparently taking steps to accommodate the arrivals, whose number they expect to increase further.

• Belarus
• Lithuania
• Poland

Two international bodies, United Nations agencies IOM and UNHCR, have called for "immediate access" to the Polish and Lithuanian borders with Belarus. Their demand comes after four migrants were found dead at Poland's border with Belarus over the weekend.

• France
• United Kingdom

France and Britain have crossed swords over how to deal with migrants crossing the Channel in small boats. The French interior minister has accused the UK of breaking maritime law and 'financial blackmail'.

• Turkey

More than half a million Afghans are estimated to be living illegally in Turkey. Even before the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, up to 1,000 refugees crossed the Turkish border every day. As the situation in their homeland continues to deteriorate, Afghans in Turkey are in a state of limbo: Unable to leave and unwilling to return.

• Tunisia

Illicit crossings between the Tunisian port of Zarzis and the Italian coast have increased sharply in 2021. Chamseddine Marzoug, an activist who has been involved for years with migrants' rights, faced an unprecedented situation. His own wife, accompanied by two of his grandchildren, decided to cross the sea to Europe -- without telling him.

• France
• Italy

A 17-year-old migrant who was trying to reach the border with France on a train's roof in the area of Peglia, a town near Ventimiglia in Italy, was electrocuted. At least 20 migrants have died in just a few years while trying to cross the border with France.

• Morocco
• Spain

Spanish border guards have stopped 350 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from entering the enclave of Melilla from neighboring Morocco. Many sub-Saharan Africans choose Melilla and nearby Ceuta as a gateway into Europe.

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Poland

Around 30 Afghan nationals detained on Poland's border with Belarus have resisted efforts to push them back. In Poland and Lithuania, the number of irregular migrant arrivals has significantly increased.

• Turkey

Faced with a potential uptick in arrivals of refugees from Afghanistan, Turkey is reinforcing its border with Iran. Even though a new concrete wall appears to have limited irregular crossings, the number of Afghans said to be gathering near the border with no way back is causing concern in Turkey and the EU.

• Belarus
• Lithuania

Some EU officials have claimed Minsk is using "hybrid warfare" by deliberately sending migrants to Lithuania. Poland has sent additional troops to its border with Belarus to handle the influx.

• Belarus
• Lithuania

An uptick in migrant arrivals into Lithuania from neighboring Belarus appears to have slowed down significantly. But with a pile of asylum applications to process and local communities angry about nearby migrant camps, the Lithuanian government faces an unfamiliar challenge.

• Belarus
• Croatia
• Lithuania

According to the EU border agency Frontex, the number of irregular border crossings to the European Union via the so-called ‘Balkan route’ is up 90% on last year. The majority of those arriving are from Syria and Afghanistan.