Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
One of the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (
Nato
) declared a national emergency status today, Tuesday (9/12).
Prime Minister Inga Rugienenė said Lithuania declared a state of emergency after Belarus smuggled balloons containing cigarettes into the country.
“In fighting Belarus’ hybrid attacks, we must take the strictest measures and defend the most affected areas,” he said, quoted by Al Jazeera.
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“All agencies are working together to overcome the threat of balloon smuggling,” added the PM.
Rugienenė believes that the balloon poses a risk of disrupting national security.These balloons are often used by smugglers to transport cigarettes illegally to Lithuania.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovicius believes Belarus was involved in sending the balloons.
He also said the balloon attack disrupted civil aviation so the government needed to declare an emergency status.
“A state of emergency was declared because of disruption to civil aviation and because of national security concerns,” Kondratovicius said.
He also said the government had asked parliament to allow the military to cooperate with police, border guards and security officials during a state of emergency.
So far, there is no information on how long the emergency will last.
Previously, Rugienenė was angry with Belarus because of a similar incident.The PM also said balloon deliveries to Lithuania increased drastically after the attack in Latvia.
However, Belarus denied responsibility for the incident.In Early November, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko criticized the Vilnius-based government for closing air borders.
Europe is on high alert after drones infiltrated the airspace of NATO member countries last September.
(isa/dna)
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