Hundreds of migrants and refugees are camped out in almost freezing temperatures in Belarus after Polish security forces blocked people attempting to cross the border, with officials in Warsaw warning of a possible “armed” escalation in the coming days.
Poland has for months accused Belarus of trying to spark a major confrontation by encouraging migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa to cross into Central Europe and the wider European Union in revenge for Western sanctions on longtime President Alexander Lukashenko’s government.
On Monday, the situation escalated as hundreds of people headed towards the Polish border near Kuznica village. Some tried to breach a barbed wire fence using spades and other tools.
Poland’s government deployed additional soldiers, border guards and police in response, preventing refugees and migrants forcing their way across the frontier.
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday accused Lukashenko’s government of “attacking” the Polish border and the EU “in an unparalleled manner”.
“We currently have a camp of migrants who are blocked from the Belarusian side. There are about 1,000 people there, mostly young men. These are aggressive actions that we must repel, fulfilling our obligations as a member of the European Union,” he told a news conference in Warsaw.
Poland’s government has deployed additional soldiers, border guards and police to the country’s border with Belarus [Leonid Scheglov/BelTA/Handout via Reuters]Minsk-Moscow discussions
But Minsk said it was concerned by the Polish troop presence in the region, following a call between Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow is an ally and creditor of the Belarusian president’s government, which is increasingly isolated after orchestrating a brutal crackdown on dissent last year in the wake of a disputed election that handed the 67-year-old a sixth term in office.
In a statement, Lukashenko’s press office said he and Putin had discussed the “harsh actions of the Polish side towards peaceful people”.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the EU could provide financial assistance to Belarus in order to encourage it to stop migrants and refugees from crossing into the bloc.
He referenced a 2016 deal under which the EU provided funds to Turkey, which promised to take back migrants and refugees who crossed the Aegean to enter Greece illegally.
Lavrov said the EU could do the same with Belarus.
Worsening conditions
Poland’s Border Guard had told Reuters news agency earlier on Tuesday that about 800 people camped out in the area in freezing overnight temperatures.
In total, an estimated 4,000 migrants and refugees are there and in nearby forests.
Marta Gorczynska, a human rights lawyer who is in contact with some of the stranded migrants and refugees, said the situation was “only getting worse”.
“The conditions in the forests between Poland and Belarus are very harsh, it’s an environment where there is very little access to food and water and no access to warm shelter,” Gorczynska told Al Jazeera from Warsaw.
“These are people who are deprived of basic humanitarian assistance,” she said. “Belarus is responsible for providing these people assistance, and for first of all not using them as political tools to exert pressure on the EU, but also on the other side, Poland … is also obliged to provide these people assistance.”
Warsaw anticipates ‘armed escalation’
Polish police said the situation at the border was calm overnight, while footage published by authorities on Tuesday showed security forces warning those camped out that crossing into Poland is only permitted at official crossing points.
As of early Tuesday, the nearest shared border crossing, in Kuznica, was closed. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, accompanied by Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, went to the border on Tuesday morning to meet with border guards and other security officials.
Warsaw has warned the crisis, which Minsk denies engineering, may be about to worsen.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller told reporters on Monday that officials expected an “escalation … of an armed nature” in the near future.
Fellow EU member states Lithuania and Latvia have also raised the alarm, with Vilnius moving additional troops to its border with Belarus to prepare for a possible surge in attempted crossings.
Human rights groups have criticised Poland and Belarus for their treatment of migrants and refugees, who face subzero temperatures and a lack of food and medical attention.
At least seven people have died in the region since August, when the border crisis erupted, according to Polish officials. There have also been reports of more deaths on the Belarusian side of the frontier.
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