Artificial migration crisis
Reports from Poland: Belarus appears to be adopting the new strategy
Belarus: An abandoned migrant camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region
© LEONID SHCHEGLOV / AFP
In view of his failure, Alexander Lukashenko is apparently adopting a new tactic: instead of gathering thousands of migrants at one point, they are abandoned in smaller groups along the border with Poland.
Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has accused Belarus of changing its strategy in the conflict over migrants on the common border. “Now the migrants and the Belarusian authorities have used a new method. Smaller groups of people are trying to cross the border in many places,” he told radio station RMF FM on Saturday. There is “no question that these attacks are being controlled by the Belarusian authorities”.
Polish border guards also reported on Saturday that several small groups tried to cross the border. A few dozen people were involved in each case. However, the security forces also reported a larger group of around 200 people who were armed with tear gas, fireworks and stones.
Illegal attempts to cross the border from Belarus
According to their own statements, the Polish authorities registered a total of 195 illegal attempts to cross the border on Friday. “82 foreigners were asked to leave Polish territory. Two Ukrainian citizens and one German citizen were arrested for aiding and abetting,” said the border guards on Twitter on Saturday.
“We have to be prepared for the fact that this problem will continue for months. I have no doubt that this will be the case,” said Blaszczak. The EU accuses Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately smuggling refugees into the border area with the EU. Minsk rejects the allegations.
Lukashenko stubbornly denies everything
Lukashenko told the BBC on Friday that it was “absolutely possible” that Belarusian armed forces would have helped migrants enter the EU, but denied organizing the operation. “We are Slavs. We have a heart. Our troops know that the migrants want to come to Germany. Maybe someone helped them,” he said. “But I didn’t invite you here.”
For weeks, thousands of refugees from the Middle East, including many Kurds from Iraq, have been stuck in the Belarusian-Polish border region in increasingly icy temperatures. Poland has erected a border fence and gathered more than 15,000 security guards at the border.