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Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak reported that there were “hundreds of attempts” by migrants to cross the border between his country and Belarus, for which dozens were arrested. Meanwhile, Warsaw and Minsk accused each other of “mistreating” the foreigners stuck in the area and using them as “human shields”.
The drama for hundreds of migrants continues on the border between Poland and Belarus, as both governments escalate the dispute.
Desperate to get out of the camps where they have been stuck for weeks, and in some cases months, dozens of immigrants tried to cross the border into Poland, despite the area being highly militarized.
“A group of about 60 people” managed to cross the border, according to the Polish channel ‘PolSat’. However, Minister Mariusz Blaszczak reported that “all those who managed to pass were arrested.”
The Polish National Guard specified that after what happened, the expulsion orders were processed for 48 of the foreigners involved and another 12 were under arrest.
Amid low temperatures and stranded just a few meters from the fence that separates the Polish city of Kuznica and the Grodno region, on the Belarusian side, up to 4,000 migrants remain, according to figures from Warsaw.
Most of the migrants come from Africa and the Middle East, including hundreds of women and children, surrounded by troops from both countries, which has raised fears of an armed confrontation.
They have been trapped not only in the makeshift camps, but also in the cross-accusations between the governments of Belarus and Poland.
Accusations of alleged mistreatment of migrants
After being accused for months of deliberately encouraging the passage of migrants from his country to Polish soil in retaliation for the economic sanctions imposed on his Government, the Administration of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, accused the Polish authorities of “hitting” and “mistreating ”To stranded migrants.
The Belarusian border guard service said in a statement that four Polish guards beat four ethnic Kurds as they tried to cross the border.
“Judging by the numerous injuries to the bodies of the migrants, the Polish security forces mistreated the people and, using force, pushed them behind a barbed wire fence on the border with Belarus (…) According to the refugees, they were detained in the territory of Poland where they had tried to request protection and refugee status, “the note said.
On Tuesday, Lukashenko blamed his neighboring nation for holding him responsible for the migration crisis to justify violent actions in the affected area. “To carry out a war with these unfortunate people on the border of Poland with Belarus and advance columns of tanks, it is clear that this is a training exercise or blackmail,” said the Belarusian leader.
The Polish government also launched strong accusations against Minsk. After visiting the border, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiekci assured that migrants are being used by Belarus as part of “a new type of war in which people are used as human shields.”
Brussels and Warsaw have also held Minsk responsible for using violence against migrants to force them across the border.
“This is part of the inhumane and really gangster-style approach of the Lukashenko regime that it is lying to people, abusing people and taking them to Belarus under the false promise of easy entry into the European Union,” he said. a spokesman for the EU Commission.
Merkel calls for Russia’s intervention
Faced with the growing tension, German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked in the last hours the President of Russia, Vladmir Putin, an ally of Belarus, to pressure Lukashenko to end the problem. However, the Kremlin has already been in favor of Belarus and blames the community bloc for the crisis.
For months, the community of the 27 countries has affirmed that the increase in the migratory flow is due to the Lukashenko Administration has attracted thousands of vulnerable people from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others, with tourist visas, and then encourage them to cross to Polish soil and therefore to EU territory.
As the political clash and threats of a military confrontation mount, thousands of people find themselves in precarious conditions at the border and beg for urgent asylum.
With Reuters AP and AFP
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