A border guard vehicle moves bicycles used by asylum seekers to cross the border to Finland to an impound warehouse, after Finland closed all four southeastern border crossing points on its eastern border in response to Russia’s decision to allow undocumented asylum seekers to cross in growing numbers, at the Nuijamaa border… Acquire Licensing Rights
HELSINKI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – The Finnish Border Guard said on Tuesday Russian authorities were likely heavily involved in transporting migrants to two border crossings that remain open as Finland seeks to curb the flow of migrants from Russia.
More than 500 asylum seekers, mostly from Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, have arrived in Finland – an eastern outpost of the European Union – via Russia in a sudden surge over the past two weeks, prompting Helsinki to shut half its border crossings and accuse Moscow of funnelling migrants to its border. Moscow denies the charge.
As Helsinki considers closing the entire border, the migrants have been arriving from Russia bundled into cars and trucks and then dropped off and handed bicycles near the Finnish border for the final stretch, the head of the Finnish Border Guard’s legal…
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