Poland says it fears a “major incident” at the Belarusian border – archyde

by Matthias Williams and Joanna Plucinska

KIEV (Reuters) – Poland on Monday accused Belarus of seeking to provoke a “major incident” at the common border between the two countries, towards which several hundred migrants are said to converge, according to images broadcast on the internet.

A video shared by Belarusian online platform Nexta shows a large group of people wearing backpacks and winter clothes walking along a highway.

In other videos, groups of migrants can be seen sitting by the side of the road, escorted by armed men in khaki uniforms.

“Belarus wants to provoke a major incident, preferably with gunshots and casualties: according to the media, they are preparing a serious provocation near Kuźnica Białostocka, there will be a massive border crossing attempt,” said the Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Piotr Wawrzyk, on Polish Public Radio.

“The Polish authorities are ready (to face) any scenario,” said Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik on Twitter.

Belarus has been accused for several months by the European Union of encouraging the illegal entry of foreigners into Poland and other countries via its territory in response to the sanctions that Brussels imposed on Minsk for human rights violations. .

The Belarusian border guard corps confirmed in a statement that a large group of refugees were moving along a highway towards the Polish border, at the same time underlining the “inhuman attitude” of Warsaw in this regard. .

“THE BORDER IS SACRED”

The conditions under which migrants try to cross the border from Belarus are trying, according to aid organizations. Polish authorities say at least seven migrants were found dead on the Polish side of the border, and other unverified deaths are believed to have occurred in the neighboring country.

Humanitarian groups accuse the nationalists in power in Poland of violating international asylum rights by pushing migrants back to Belarus, which the Polish government denies, ensuring that they are acting legally.

“The Polish border is not just a line on a map. The border is sacred – Polish blood has been shed for it!” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Facebook.

Poland has deployed 12,000 troops to the border since the start of the crisis, according to its defense minister.

Lithuania is in the process of moving troops to its border with Belarus to prepare for a possible influx of refugees, the interior minister said on Monday.

The Lithuanian government will discuss the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in the border area, Agnė Bilotaitė added at a press conference.

(Report Matthias Williams in Kiev, with Joanna Plucinska and Päwel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, with the contribution of Pavel Polityuk in Kiev, Dmitri Antonov in Moscow, French version Juliette Portala, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)