Migrants, Poland-Belarus clash: thousands blocked at the border

Tension is growing on the border between Poland and Belarus, where thousands of migrants are massed, which Minsk, according to the accusations, uses as a ‘weapon’ against Europe. Belarusian soldiers have transferred 500 migrants from Kuznica, on the border with Lithuania, to Kadysha, in the district of Grodno, reports the Lithuanian daily Delphi. Among the displaced refugees there are also children under 12 years of age. GERMANY – Faced with the crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, Germany appeals to the EU to help Warsaw. “Poland or Germany cannot handle this alone,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the Bild newspaper. “We must help the Polish government to protect its external border – he urged – This would be the task of the European Commission, I appeal for it to act”. EU – “I ask the authorities of Belarus to respect international law”, wrote yesterday on Twitter the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, reiterating that “the EU will not accept any attempt to exploit migrants for objective political reasons”. “We are closely monitoring the situation on the borders of the European Union”, he concludes. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen also intervened on the situation: “Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk, the exploitation of migrants for political purposes it is unacceptable. ” “The authorities of Belarus must understand that putting pressure on the EU in this way through the cynical exploitation of migrants does not help it to achieve its objectives”, adds the president, referring to having spoken with the premieri of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, of Lithuania. , Ingrida Šimonytė and from Latvia, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš. To them “expressed EU solidarity and discussed with them measures that the EU can take to support their efforts to tackle the crisis”, he added stating to ask member states to ” finally approve the sanctions extended to the Belarusian authorities responsible for this hybrid attack “. Lithuania launches a state of emergency in the border region Lithuania has meanwhile introduced a state of emergency in the regions bordering Belarus after yesterday thousands of refugees were sent by the Belarusian authorities to the border with Poland. “The decision was taken bearing in mind the worsening of the situation at the border, it will now be the Parliament that must approve the measure”, said the Premier, Ingrida Simonyte. The state of emergency, if approved, will take effect from midnight tomorrow, for the duration of one month. It will cover the border with Belarus and in a buffer zone five kilometers from the border, as well as reception centers for migrants who have already entered Lithuania from Belarus.