Norway begins construction of wall along Russian border
Norway has begun the construction of a wall along the Russian border. Polish Radio reports that the wall will be 200 meters long and three and a half meters high.
The wall will be built at the Storskog border checkpoint. The goal is to protect the northern border of the Schengen area from an influx of refugees.
Refugees are now using the route through Russia, along its border with the EU, more frequently due to the closure of the migration corridor that ran through the Balkans. Last year, the Storskog border checkpoint was crossed by 5,500 refugees, of whom most were from Syria.
The wall is being built in place of a wooden fence, which was used to control the number of deer herds during their migration.
This initiative was criticized by Norwegian opposition, as well as human rights organizations. However, the Deputy Justice Minister of Norway, Ove Vanebo, said that the decision to build the wall is entirely justified.