COPENHAGEN: Finland’s border with Russia was closed to Russians with tourist visas Friday, curtailing one of the last easily accessible routes to Europe for Russians trying to flee a military mobilization aimed at bolstering the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
Long queues were reported until midnight at the border crossings. Among the last to enter Finland were two cyclists who arrived a little before 11 p.m., Finnish broadcaster YLE reported from Vaalimaa, one of the main border crossings between the Nordic country and Russia. Finland has the longest border with Russia of all European Union member countries.
With the exception of the one border crossing between Russia and Norway, Finland had provided the last easily accessible land route to Europe for Russian holders of European Schengen-zone visas.
The government justified its decision by saying that continued arrivals of Russian tourists in Finland is endangering the country’s international relations, and cited security concerns related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the “illegal” referendums arranged by Russia in parts of Ukraine and recent sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia under the Baltic Sea.
Russian citizens can still enter Finland for family reasons, study or work. Also, Russian political dissidents may seek to enter for humanitarian purposes.
As of Sept. 1, Finland slashed the number of visas — including for tourism purposes — issued to Russian citizens to one-tenth of the typical number, in a show of solidarity with Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Finnish border guards said they want a fence along the border with Russia, deeming it “necessary due to the changing security environment” in the Nordic country. Such a fence requires the approval of the Finnish Parliament.
The fence would not run the entire 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) length of the border, but shoudl be in “riskier areas, such as border crossings and their nearby areas,” the border guards said.
Norway said Friday it was considering imposing an entry ban for Russians with Schengen visas. The Scandinavian country has a border in the Arctic with Russia which is 198 kilometers (123 miles) long. The sole crossing point is at Storskog.
“We will close the border quickly if necessary, and changes can come at short notice,” Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said.
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Finnish border closed to Russians with tourist visas
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Finnish border closed to Russians with tourist visas
- Russians have been trying to flee a military mobilization aimed at bolstering the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine
Pakistan combing for perpetrators after deadly separatist attacks
- Around a dozen sites where the attacks took place — including the provincial capital Quetta — remained sealed off
- The Baloch Liberation Army, the province’s most active militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks
QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan forces were hunting on Sunday for the separatists behind a string of coordinated attacks in restive Balochistan province, with the government vowing to retaliate after more than 120 people were killed.
Around a dozen sites where the attacks took place — including the provincial capital Quetta — remained sealed off, with troops combing the area a day after militants stormed banks, jails and military installations, killing at least 18 civilians and 15 security personnel, according to the military’s count.
At least 92 militants were also killed, the military added, while an official said that a deputy district commissioner had been abducted.
Mobile Internet service across the province has been jammed for more than 24 hours, while road traffic is disrupted and train services suspended.
After being rocked by explosions, typically bustling Quetta lay quiet on Sunday, with major roads and businesses deserted, and people staying indoors out of fear.
Shattered metal fragments and mangled vehicles litter some roads.
“Anyone who leaves home has no certainty of returning safe and sound. There is constant fear over whether they will come back unharmed,” Hamdullah, a 39-year-old shopkeeper who goes by one name, said in Quetta.
The Pakistan military said it was conducting “sanitization operations” in the areas that had been targeted in Saturday’s attacks.
“The instigators, perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of these heinous and cowardly act... will be brought to justice,” it said in a statement Saturday night.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the province’s most active militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.
The group said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.
Saturday’s attacks came a day after the military said it killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.
Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Pakistan’s poorest province despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development.
Baloch separatists have intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms that they believe are exploiting its riches.
The separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board last year, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed.
Around a dozen sites where the attacks took place — including the provincial capital Quetta — remained sealed off, with troops combing the area a day after militants stormed banks, jails and military installations, killing at least 18 civilians and 15 security personnel, according to the military’s count.
At least 92 militants were also killed, the military added, while an official said that a deputy district commissioner had been abducted.
Mobile Internet service across the province has been jammed for more than 24 hours, while road traffic is disrupted and train services suspended.
After being rocked by explosions, typically bustling Quetta lay quiet on Sunday, with major roads and businesses deserted, and people staying indoors out of fear.
Shattered metal fragments and mangled vehicles litter some roads.
“Anyone who leaves home has no certainty of returning safe and sound. There is constant fear over whether they will come back unharmed,” Hamdullah, a 39-year-old shopkeeper who goes by one name, said in Quetta.
The Pakistan military said it was conducting “sanitization operations” in the areas that had been targeted in Saturday’s attacks.
“The instigators, perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of these heinous and cowardly act... will be brought to justice,” it said in a statement Saturday night.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the province’s most active militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.
The group said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.
Saturday’s attacks came a day after the military said it killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.
Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Pakistan’s poorest province despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development.
Baloch separatists have intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms that they believe are exploiting its riches.
The separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board last year, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed.
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