Repeated attempts to violate Poland’s border with Belarus were made overnight, the Polish defense minister told a Polish public radio station on Wednesday, adding that 15,000 troops were already at the border and that troops would be further increased if needed.
Poland and other EU member states accuse Belarus of encouraging migrants – from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa – to cross the border illegally into the EU, avenging sanctions imposed on Minsk for human rights abuses.
“It was not a quiet night. In fact, there have been many attempts to cross the Polish border. “From what I heard, we stopped all those who violated,” Marius Blastack told PR1 radio station.
The Polish Minister of Defense spoke about a change in tactics on the part of immigrants in order to enter Polish territory.
“Two days ago, we saw a single, large group of migrants … trying to cross the border en masse, while now they are attacking several smaller but still large groups at the border at the same time,” the defense minister said.
Poland announced today that it has made more than 50 arrests of migrants gathered at the border with Belarus, where, according to the Polish authorities, attempts to cross the border are increasing.
“In the last 24 hours, police have arrested more than 50 people near Bialovieza after they crossed the border illegally,” Thomas Krupa, a regional police spokesman, told AFP.
– With information from AMPE
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