Violent scenes ensued as thousands of migrants massed near the Belarus border on Monday, Polish authorities said on Monday, as EU member states called for more sanctions against Minsk and security forces braced for more attempts to force their way through the frontier.
Wielding shovels, iron bars, and other weapons the migrants tried to break through barbed wire fences near the border crossing at Kuznica. “They throw tree trunks on the fence so as to reduce the height of this fence to breach it,” said Katarzyna Zdanowicz, spokeswoman for Polish border guards in the area.
The Polish government is determined and we will defend the security of our country and the entire EU, respecting our international obligations and bearing in mind, above all, the interests of the state and the safety of Polish soldiers, Border Guard officers and citizens.
The massive group was viewed as a threat not only by Poland, but by many other European countries, including Germany – the main destination for many. Steffen Seibert, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, told reporters Monday that “the Belarusian regime is acting as a human trafficker.
“It instrumentalises refugees and migrants in a way that’s politically and from a humanitarian point of view condemnable. Europe will make a united stand against this continuous hybrid attack,” he said.
Due to the situation on the eastern border of Poland, I am in contact with the ambassadors of the USA, Great Britain, France, Ireland and Estonia to the United Nations in New York – members of the Security Council.
Belarus, meanwhile, enjoys political and financial support from the Kremlin.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday defended Minsk’s handling of the migrant issue, saying Belarus was taking all necessary measures to act legally.
Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told the AP that the Moscow-backed Lukashenko regime seemed to be trying to use the migrants “to scare” the EU.
“The largest attack of migrants on EU borders is taking place three days after Belarus and Russia signed a new agreement on military cooperation. The Kremlin is at least aware of the details of what’s happening,” Karbalevich said.
Poland’s Border Guard have also reported incidents of hostile behavior and threats by Belarusian forces directed across the border at Polish forces.
Bix Aliu, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Warsaw, tweeted that Lukashenko’s regime was risking the migrants’ lives and “using them to escalate the border crisis and provoke Poland.”
