Several thousand asylum seekers are stuck on the Belarusian-Polish border as neither side will allow them to progress any further. Most are said to be Kurds from Iraq, reportedly seeking to cross Poland and reach Germany. While Polish and EU officials have blamed Belarus of attempting to trigger a migration crisis, Minsk officials have denied having anything to do with the situation which has already been happening for months and has continued to worsen ever since it began.
Thousands facing Polish border
Polish government spokesman, Piotr Muller, confirmed that on 9 November, police prevented about 3,000 to 4,000 people, including children, from crossing the border. He added that another 10,000 were expected to try to reach Poland from Belarus.
Grupa migrantów znajduje się obecnie w okolicach Kuźnicy pic.twitter.com/w5VxXp9QqQ
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) November 8, 2021
The majority are said to be Kurds coming from northern Iraq. Videos released by the Polish Border Guard show that the asylum seekers were not intending to stay in Poland with Germany being their most likely final destination.
Polish security forces were forced to use tear gas as some asylum seekers started to thrust forward and cut the razor wire fence. Although part of the temporary fencing was destroyed, the migrants are still on the Belarusian side where they are camping in tents and burning fires. The asylum seekers cannot go towards either Poland nor Belarus as neither country’s security forces will allow them in.
Poland vs Belarus stance
The Polish government has described the inflow of asylum seekers as a “hybrid attack” launched by the Belarusian regime in an attempt to destabilize the EU borders in retaliation for the sanctions recently imposed on Minsk.
💬 Minister @Kaminski_M_ o gotowości polskich służb na granicy polsko-białoruskiej. pic.twitter.com/RvUjeKocMm
— MSWiA (@MSWiA_GOV_PL) November 8, 2021
“The current situation on the Belarusian-Polish border is a result of the deliberate escalation of tension by the Belarusian side. There are large groups of migrants in the area of our border that are fully controlled by the Belarusian security services and army. A coordinated attempt to massively enter the territory of the Republic of Poland by migrants used by Belarus for the hybrid attacks against Poland has just begun,” Stanislaw Zaryn, a spokesman for Poland’s security forces, said.
For its part, Belarus has repeatedly denied being behind the ongoing migrant crisis although it did confirm on 8 November that many refugees were moving towards the border and accused Poland of an “inhuman attitude” towards them.
Meanwhile, Poland has deployed some 12,000 military at the border with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mariusz Kamiński, saying that “Our priority is to defend the border with determination.”
International reactions
Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk.
I spoke to @MorawieckiM @IngridaSimonyte @krisjaniskarins
I call for approval of extended sanctions, possible sanctions on third country airlines involved.
We also want to prevent a humanitarian crisis and ensure safe returns
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 8, 2021
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke to the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and condemned the Belarusian regime posting on Twitter that “Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk.” She also called for sanctions against Belarus to be extended and for these to be imposed on any third country airlines involved in transporting asylum seekers to the area.
The UNHCR reacted in a similar way.
See also: UNHCR and IOM Call for immediate de-escalation at the Belarus-Poland border
The Belarusian regime was also condemned by the US government,
“As long as the regime and Belarus refuse to respect its international obligations and commitments, undermine the peace and security of Europe and continue to repress and abuse people seeking nothing more than to live in freedom, we will continue to pressure Lukashenko and will not lessen our calls for accountability,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
