Poland has warned that tensions could escalate by encouraging hundreds of people seeking asylum in European Union countries to cross the Belarus-Poland border, leading to fears of “armed” clashes between the two countries.
Poland has deployed additional troops after hundreds of people tried to cross the border into Poland.
Poland, the European Union and NATO say Belarus is causing the problem. Belarus’s controversial president has denied the allegations.
Poland is closing a key border crossing in Kuwait.
EU and NATO member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia say large numbers of migrants from Belarus have tried to enter their country illegally in recent months. Most of them are from the Middle East and Asia.
Nighttime temperatures in the border area are now dropping below zero degrees and several migrants have already died in recent weeks.
Human rights activists say the migrants are being used as a chess piece in a political game between Belarus and its neighbors outside the EU. Most of them are young and include women and children.
Piotr M মller, Poland’s official spokesman, said 4,000 migrants had gathered near Poland’s eastern border. He told reporters that the idea was that the tensions would escalate into “armed conflict” as the incident progressed.
According to Polish TV, most of the migrants who have gathered near the Kunicha border are armed and armed with dogs.
