© Reuters
– Polish law enforcement forces fire water cannons to disperse migrants trying to break through barricades and enter European territory near Kuznica
Tensions between the migrants and Polish security forces on the border with Belarus escalated into violence on Tuesday as migrants began throwing stones at police, who responded with water cannons.
The incident came when thousands of migrants gathered near the Kuznitsa border crossing in a chaotic attempt to enter the EU, Reuters reported, citing videos shared by authorities on Tuesday. Poland declared a state of emergency on the border in September, preventing journalists and NGOs from accessing the area, and relying on government reports.
Footage shared by a spokesman for the Polish government and the Ministry of Defense shows an escalation of the border crisis, where migrants on Belarusian territory continue to increase.
“Caution, caution, if you do not follow orders, force will be used against you,” a spokesman said, targeting migrants throwing objects, according to images shown on public television TVP.
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The video shows migrants throwing bottles and logs at Polish soldiers and trying to break through the fence with cut trees. The interior ministry said a police officer was seriously injured by a thrown object and was in hospital with a suspected skull fracture.
According to the Polish Ministry of Defense, the Belarusian authorities have given the migrants sound grenades to throw at Polish soldiers and border guards.
According to authorities in Warsaw, more than 20,000 Polish soldiers, police and border guards are at the border near Kużnica, where an estimated 4,000 migrants are believed to be barred by the Belarusian authorities from returning to Minsk.
© Reuters
– Thousands of migrants have gathered at the Polish-Belarusian border, and according to many reports, they are not allowed in the EU or to return to Minsk.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he was deeply concerned about how Belarus put the lives of vulnerable migrants at risk. Earlier, Warsaw said the government was discussing whether to launch formal consultations with NATO on the crisis.
“We are preparing for a pessimistic outcome – this conflict could last for months,” spokesman Piotr Mueller told a news conference.
Polish authorities said they had been informed of a telephone conversation Monday between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Alexander Lukashenko to discuss how to deliver humanitarian aid to migrants living outdoors in sub-zero night temperatures. On Tuesday, Russia’s TASS news agency reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken to Lukashenko on the phone about the crisis without giving details.
Iraq is expected to schedule an evacuation flight from Minsk on Thursday. So far, about 150 to 200 Iraqis already in Minsk have registered to fly home. Iraqi Consul Majid al-Kinani told Reuters that they were also trying to register people who were at the border.
“The number fluctuates because people are blocked on Belarus’ border with Poland or Lithuania and have so far not received permission to return to Minsk from the Belarusian authorities,” the consul said.
47 migrants were detained in Lithuania while trying to approach the border.
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