MINSK, Belarus
Thousands of irregular migrants continue waiting at the Polish-Belarusian border for the third day in the hope of crossing into the EU countries.
After crossing the Bruzgi border point in Grodno, Belarus, on Monday, the immigrants – most of them from Iraq – have been waiting at the Polish border.
Nearly 2,000 immigrants, including women and children, are staying in tents despite the cold weather and shortage of food, water, and medical assistance.
Some aid organizations, especially the Red Cross, started providing food and water to the people stuck at the border. The city government of Grodno also sent water tankers to the area.
Following Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s comments on the situation of migrants at the border, some well-known people in the community launched campaigns to provide the immigrants with basic needs such as winter clothes, blankets, food, and hygiene materials.
A large group of these people crossed the Polish border at midnight, while some of them were pushed back to the Belarusian side by the Polish security forces.
Poland beefs up security
Later, Poland’s Defense Ministry announced those crossing the border were taken into custody. The Polish authorities also increased the number of security forces along the border to 15,000.
The State Border Committee of Belarus reported that some of those trying to cross the border were injured by the Polish security forces, and Belarus was providing medical assistance to them.
In a statement, the committee said the Polish security forces opened fire at the border to keep the migrants at bay.
Pointing out that more than 2,000 people, including women and children, have been sleeping on the ground at freezing temperatures for three days, the committee said these people are in dire need of food, water, and medicine.
The committee also warned that tension was escalating on the Belarusian-Polish border.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that two Russian long-range Tu-22M3 bombers flew over Belarus.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry also said that the warplanes of Russia and Belarus are carrying out joint patrol flights on Wednesday.
The situation on the Belarus-Polish border was extensively covered by the Belarusian press.
Daily Belarus Segodnya wrote: “They were bombed, hit by tanks. And they are again a target. Immigrants tried to escape from hell, but they found themselves in the hands of executioners.”
“Against whom did the Polish army, police, border guards gather to fight? Against whom were the barbed wire walls built at the EU border? Now there are 3,000 migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border. These are citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Almost half of them are women and children. The situation is extremely tense and almost catastrophic,” it added.
Brest newspaper also reported the Belarusian president’s comments about a mafia in the EU that organizes migration to Europe.
Television channels also gave wide coverage to the issue.
Poland and the EU have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of trying to retaliate for EU sanctions by deliberately inviting and herding migrants towards the Polish border.
The EU countries bordering Belarus – Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – have been reporting a dramatically growing number of irregular crossings since August.
NATO and the EU consider Belarus’ approach towards migrants an effort to destabilize and undermine security in the European countries through non-military means.
According to the EU’s latest figures, 7,935 people tried to enter the bloc via the Belarus-EU border so far this year, up sharply from just 150 last year. A total of 4,216 migrants crossed the border into Lithuania, 3,305 into Poland, and 414 into Latvia.
On Monday, Polish authorities stepped up border protection and mobilized over 12,000 troops after a large group of migrants started marching towards the country’s frontier with Belarus accompanied by the Belarusian military.
