Latvian soldiers stopped an attempt by a group of at least 20 illegal migrants to cross the Latvia-Belarus border this week, with armed masked escorts threatening the soldiers, Latvia’s National Armed Forces (NBS) said.

Axar.az reports, citing the NBS, that the migrants’ movement from Belarus into Latvia appeared to have been deliberately organised. The masked escorts actively pushed and urged the group toward Latvia while issuing threats to the soldiers.

According to the NBS, the incident differed from many previous cases because of the escorts’ particularly demonstrative and aggressive behaviour.

The armed forces said illegal migration was being used as an instrument of pressure on Latvia and the European Union and NATO’s external borders. The incident demonstrated that deliberate provocations and hybrid threats along the Latvia-Belarus border were continuing.

The NBS said it would continue supporting Latvia’s State Border Guard along the country’s borders with Belarus and Russia in responding to illegal migration, provocations and other hybrid threats.