Poland complains: Belarus transports migrants by truck and forces them to cross

Poland today accused Belarus of smuggling hundreds of migrants back to the border and forcing them to try to cross them illegally, just hours after the evacuation of their main border camps.

This accusation from Poland makes it clear that a seemingly change of attitude this week from Minsk has not yet led to a solution to the border crisis, which in recent weeks has turned into a major East-West confrontation.

European countries accuse Belarus of deliberately causing the crisis by airlifting thousands of migrants from the Middle East and forcing them to cross the border illegally. About 10 migrants are believed to have died while camping in the forest at the border in the cold. Belarus, which is backed by Russia, has denied any wrongdoing.

Belarusian authorities evacuated the main camps where thousands of people had gathered near the border with Poland on Thursday. Hundreds of Iraqis were also evacuated on their first repatriation flight from Minsk in months.

However, the representative of the Polish Border Guard Ana Michalska said that since last night the Belarusian authorities had already transported hundreds of migrants by truck and forced them to try to cross the border in the dark.

Belarusians “brought more migrants to the place where there was a forced attempt to cross the border,” he said. “In the beginning it was 100 people, but then the Belarusian side brought more people in trucks. Then it was 500,” he said.

The spokeswoman clarified that those who tried to cross the border last night from Belarus near Dubite Serkievne with the support of the Belarusian forces amounted to about 500. She also noted that the Polish border guard arrested 45 of the migrants during the clashes. they threw stones and tear gas.

“Members of this group threw stones and someone also threw tear gas in the direction of the Polish forces. At the same time, the Belarusian services used lasers to blind them,” he said.

“Forty-five people have been arrested and ordered to leave Poland,” he said. “The Belarusian side is supplying the migrants with tears, it is obvious that they did not bring them with them from their countries of origin,” he insisted.

Four Polish soldiers were wounded, but did not have to be taken to hospital, Michalska said.

A total of 255 border crossing attempts were recorded by the border guards yesterday.

Since the beginning of the year, Polish border guards have recorded more than 34,000 attempts, including more than 6,000 this month, about 17,300 in October, about 7,700 in September and more than 3,500 in August, when the crisis began.

Although the number of transit attempts decreased last month, the “last ones became more aggressive”, Michalska concluded.

Source: AMPE