In the first three weeks of July, Latvian border guards have stopped 730 attempts to enter the country, the PPA said in a statement.

Riga requested assistance from Estonia last week, and an 11-member team will set off in the coming days for a two-week stint. Their main purpose is to patrol the border area and the team includes a dog handler with a dog and drone operators. Officers also have crowd control training and experience.

 The PPA officers will be working around Kaplava and Robežniek, where there has been a recent rise in crossings.

If assistance is still needed after this two-week period, another team will be sent.

PPA head Veiko Kommusaar said friends need to be helped in difficult times.

"Border incursions from Belarus are not just a Latvian concern – it is our common European Union-NATO border, which Estonia is ready to guard without hesitation," he said in a statement.

"We have also been provoked on our border, and our response has been tested, which is why, in addition to helping our neighbor, it is very important that our officials gain practical experience in preventing cross-border crime. If a similar situation were to start at our border, this experience would be invaluable," the official added.

ESTPOL9 team leader Raido Onopa said the team is ready to start working on the Latvian-Belarusian border as soon as tomorrow.

"PPA people have the skills, the knowledge and the will to help our southern neighbors. Despite what are likely to be busy working days ahead, the assembly of the team went smoothly and I believe we can be of assistance to our southern neighbors," he said.

This is the ninth team Estonia has sent to Latvia since 2021, when migrants started to cross the border. There was also a big increase last autumn and PPA units prevented over 900 illegal border crossers, the agency said.       

The migrant flow fluctuates along the border, aided by the Belarusian border guards. Earlier this year, the situation was worse in Poland but has now moved to Latvia.        

Latvian public broadcaster reported that 3,301 people have been stopped from crossing the border illegally this year. Twelve people have been admitted to Latvia on humanitarian grounds.              

Migrants are mostly men under 35 from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Bangladesh, it said.   

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