About 2 PM, the Border Guard reported on Twitter that “on the Belarusian side (…) there is now a group of 24 people (20 men and 4 women), no children among them. Some people were taken by the Belarusian side, some new ones were brought. The Belarusian side has delivered food, drinks, and cigarettes to the group several times today”.
On the Belarusian side of the border, near a Polish village, 32 foreigners have been camping for several days. They want to enter Poland and seek international assistance.
From the Belarusian side, they are blocked from a possible retreat by the local services. The passage to the Polish side is guarded by soldiers and Border Guard officers.
“The Polish Army is sealing the borders with Belarus. I’m in constant contact with the commanders. Soldiers have already laid more than 100 km of fencing on the border strip. They are also starting to lay another 50 km,” wrote Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak on Thursday on Twitter.
In recent months, the number of migrants from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and other countries has increased sharply at Belarus’ borders with the EU. The largest number has so far been in Lithuania, which has accused Belarus of organizing the smuggling of migrants into its territory as part of a “hybrid war”.
After Lithuania passed legislation allowing its border services to send migrants back to Belarus, groups of migrants were redirected to the borders with Latvia and Poland. Latvia has also decided to return migrants and has introduced a state of emergency at the border.
Residents of Usnarz Górny and nearby Krynki said that they have been seeing more and more foreigners in the area for the past month.
“It started about a month ago. Every once in a while, someone says they saw some immigrants. It wasn’t like that before. Maybe some individual people were caught by the Border Guard,” said an inhabitant of Krynki in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
He pointed to a cornfield on the outskirts of town. “Every once in a while, you can find there their backpacks, bags, and even some old jackets. They sit there until evening and wait. Then some people in cars with German plates drive up to pick them up,” he said.
“The Polish Army supports the Border Guard in protecting the border with Belarus. I have received reports from the commanders on this matter. More than 900 soldiers are involved in this operation,” Minister Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.
About 2 PM, the Border Guard reported on Twitter that “on the Belarusian side (…) there is now a group of 24 people (20 men and 4 women), no children among them. Some people were taken by the Belarusian side, some new ones were brought. The Belarusian side has delivered food, drinks, and cigarettes to the group several times today”.