Poland to erect anti-migrant fence on border with Belarus
A Polish border patrol guards a group of migrants who attempted to cross the border between Belarus and Poland near the village of Usnarz Gorny, Poland on August 18, 2021. Agencja Gazeta via REUTERS - GRZEGORZ DABROWSKI
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
The Polish government announced on Monday August 23 that it was going to erect a "
solid fence
" of barbed wire, 2.5 meters high, on the border with Belarus.
There will also increase its military personnel to prevent migrants from entering its soil.
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"
Work will start next week
," said the Polish Defense Minister. The new fence will be "
like the one that has proven itself on the Serbian-Hungarian border
", composed of a few superimposed spirals of barbed wire, said Mariusz Blaszczak. The planned installation would double the first single-wire barrier which already stretches for about 130 kilometers, or nearly a third of the length of the border between the two countries.
The minister also announced that the military personnel at the border would soon double, to reach around 2,000 soldiers dispatched to support the border police.
"
We will oppose the birth of a new route for the trafficking of immigrants, via Polish territory
," he insisted.
"
A hybrid attack
"
Warsaw and the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - jointly denounce a "
hybrid attack
" organized by Belarus which, according to them, encourages migrants to cross illegally into the territory of the European Union.
In a joint declaration, they assured that the influx of migrants had been "
planned and systematically organized by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko
".
Of
thousands of migrants
, mostly from the Middle East, crossed the euro-Belarusian border in recent months.
What the European Union sees as a form of retaliation from the Belarusian regime in the face
of increasingly severe
sanctions imposed
on it by the EU.
►
See also: Lithuania begins to turn back migrants from neighboring Belarus
The four Baltic countries turn to the UN
The four countries urged the United Nations to take action against Minsk: “
It is high time to bring the issue of the mistreatment of migrants on Belarusian territory to the attention of the United Nations, in particular the Council of United Nations security.
"
They say they will grant all necessary protection to refugees crossing the border, in accordance with international law, but they also call for possible further restrictive measures from the
EU
to prevent any further illegal immigration organized by the Belarusian state. .
Intricable situations
In many cases, Belarusian authorities push migrants back to the EU border, which has already led to inextricable situations.
A group of Afghan migrants has been stranded for two weeks on a section of the border between Poland and Belarus.
Polish human rights organizations and the liberal opposition accuse the Polish nationalist-conservative government of refusing to rescue those in need of assistance and thus violating international law.
(with
AFP
)
►
Also to listen: Poland, refuge of the Belarusian opposition [Large report]
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Poland
Belarus
International Migration
Immigration