UPDATE:
Poland and Germany can’t handle migrant crisis on Belarus border alone – German interior minister
Poland and Germany won’t be able to deal with the migrant crisis on the Belarus border on their own, German caretaker Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said, urging all EU members to unite in protecting the block’s frontiers.
“We must help the Polish government secure their external border. This would actually be the task of the European Commission. I’m now appealing to them to take action,” Seehofer told Bild newspaper on Tuesday.
“We have to stand together. Poland or Germany can’t deal with this on their own.”
The minister’s words echoed those of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who on Monday called the events on the Poland-Belarus border a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk to destabilize Europe and called for sanctions.
Source: RT
Some 3,000 migrants from the Middle East and Africa, who are looking to make it into Poland and request asylum in the EU, are currently besieging the border between Poland and Belarus.
Seehofer has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of using those people “to destabilize the West,” calling on “all EU states” to unite to counter those attempts.
Aerial footage from the frontier showed smoke rising from dozens of campfires and tents popping up in the forest, as lines of Polish police and what looked like the military gathered on the other side.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said more than 12,000 soldiers had been deployed to the border.
After Brussels imposed sanctions on Belarus in June, citing “human rights” violations and an alleged lack of democracy, Minsk responded by saying it would no longer stop migrants transiting through the country on their way to the EU.
Poland and Lithuania have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of “hybrid warfare” and “weaponizing” the migrants.
Warsaw and Vilnius vowed to continue supporting Belarusian opposition activists who sought refuge in their countries. They also green-lit the construction of fences along their borders with Belarus.
Source: RT
Note:
‘Biggest attempt to enter Poland by force’ is underway, top official says
A “massive” wave of migrants has reached Poland’s border from Belarus, with the country’s special services describing it as the largest-ever attempt to enter the country by force.
The would-be asylum seekers hoping to cross over the wooded frontier are predominantly young males, Stanislaw Zaryn, the spokesman for Poland’s Minister-Coordinator of Special Services said on Monday.
“The group of migrants gathered in a large crowd by the Belarusians comprises mostly young men. The biggest attempt to date to enter Poland by force has just begun,” Zaryn said on Twitter.
The group of #migrants gathered in a large crowd by the Belarusians is comprised of mostly young men. The biggest attempt to date to enter #Poland by force has just begun. https://t.co/2RLoe96gvd
— Stanisław Żaryn (@StZaryn) November 8, 2021
The official also reiterated accusations that Minsk is controlling and directing the migrant flow toward Poland, insisting the new crowd is under the “strict control of armed Belarusians.”
“They decide which way the group goes. This is another Belarusian hostile action aimed at Poland,” Zaryn said earlier in the day in a separate tweet, sharing a video purportedly shot from Belarus, close to the demarcation line.
The situation on the border between the two nations has gotten progressively more tense since June, after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced Minsk would no longer make any effort to stop the migrants, primarily originating from the Middle East, who seek to reach the EU through his country.
Both Poland and Brussels have repeatedly accused Belarus of “weaponizing” migration, laying on flights from troubled destinations like Iraq and Iran and encouraging people to make the crossing. Officials have branded this purported plan as a form of hybrid warfare by Minsk.
Warsaw has ramped up its border security, seeking to fend off the illegal migrant flow, with 23,000 attempted border crossings registered this year, according to Polish figures. Last month, the country also approved a new $400 million border fence project, designed to keep the migrants out.
Source: RT