“It was not a peaceful night,” Poland’s defense minister said of the crisis on his country’s borders. Polish border guards reported that three groups of people attempted to cross the border from Belarus. They have either been arrested or taken across the border. According to Poland, the Belarusian army will play an active role in the crisis.
The migration crisis continues at the Polish border. The authorities said that there are still thousands of migrants in the border area, who were sent to the border by the Belarusian regime to put pressure on the European Union. On Monday, the largest group arrived near the border town of Konitsa, where they became trapped in no man’s land at the border.
Little happened in Kuźnica last night, according to Polish authorities. There, migrants stay in tents and light campfires to keep warm. The temperature drops below zero at night. Elsewhere, groups of dozens of people tried to enter Poland.
(Images via Twitter of the current situation in Koznica)
According to the Polish border guards, there are three places involved, including Krynki and Biaowieża, two additional border towns in the south. Groups of about fifty people were either arrested or deported across the border. In total, the border guards have reported 599 attempts in the past 24 hours. This information cannot be verified because the Polish government does not allow journalists to be in the area.
The Polish authorities do not see a quick solution in the coming days. Defense Minister Mariusz Bachaczak said that there are currently about 15,000 soldiers on the border. Meanwhile, the situation for migrants stranded at the border is deteriorating. Belarusian Telegram channels, such as opposition broker channels backShow photos of a woman being carried away on a stretcher.
According to the Polish authorities, the Belarusian army takes an active part on the border. They feed the immigrants. At the same time, they prevent their return to Belarus. There is also talk of intimidation: the Polish Ministry of Defense distributed footage of Belarusian soldiers shooting in the air.
A Polish intelligence spokesman said on the radio Wednesday morning that the Polish government is considering the arrival of another group of migrants who are currently in Minsk. He also said that the Polish authorities are demanding the removal of Facebook groups that share information about the migration route through Belarus.
