Warsaw, Sept. 28, LETA – POLSKIE RADIO. The situation on Poland’s border with Belarus is very tense and a tenth of migrants trying to enter Poland illegally could be linked to terrorists, Polish Interior Minister Marjus Kaminski said on Monday.
The minister said there was a “very serious phenomenon” at the border. Belarusian officials have provoked provocations and massive attempts to cross the border.
Kaminskis emphasized that in this case we could not talk about the refugee movement. This is large-scale illegal migration by people who have been legally resident in Belarus at the invitation of the country’s regime.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is using these people as a political weapon and ammunition, Kaminsky said.
According to the Polish Ministry of the Interior, 8,200 people have been banned from crossing the border with Belarus since the beginning of August, and 1,200 illegal immigrants who have crossed the border have been detained.
Most of the detained migrants do not have documents or have illegal documents, Kaminskis said.
A spokesman for the minister revealed that about a tenth of the hundreds of illegal immigrants screened may be linked to terrorist groups or organized crime, a quarter may be involved in illegal activities, and 20% are linked to Russia.
Among other things, it was revealed that one Iraqi was associated with the terrorist group “Islamic State” and had the phone number of one militant, while an SD card found in the border area contained photos of terrorist groups, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Polish Defense Minister Marjush Blaschak revealed that Belarusian officials were provoking Polish soldiers. 2,500 soldiers have been sent to help the border guards. Belarusian officials shot in the air, aimed at weapons at Polish soldiers and threw them at firecrackers, the minister revealed.
Blaschak told reporters that Polish soldiers are well trained and do not give in to such provocations.
Blaschak promised that the Polish security services would do their utmost to protect the Polish border, which is also the eastern border of the European Union (EU).
Within the framework of the expanded hybrid attack by the regime of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, efforts have been made in recent months to send thousands of illegal immigrants to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, most of whom have arrived in Belarus as tourists from Iraq.
Both Poland and the European Union (EU) have accused the Minsk regime of trying to avenge support for the Belarusian opposition and sanctions against Belarus in response to last year’s violent crackdown on protests.
On September 2, Poland declared a state of emergency on Poland’s border with Belarus for 30 days, including a ban on journalists and charities working in the border area.
Kaminski told reporters on Monday that he would recommend the government extend the state of emergency by 60 days.
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