EU Slams Belarus for Lying to Migrant as Border Crisis Worsens

• EU Slams Belarus for Lying to Migrant as Border Crisis Worsens

• Some 4,500 migrants are currently at the border near Kuznica trying to cross into Poland from Belarus

EKO HOT BLOG reports that thousands of refugees have built up impromptu camps along the border between Poland and Belarus, as criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko grew on Tuesday.

Poland has accused Lukashenko of aiming to fabricate a crisis on the European Union’s eastern border by funneling refugees to the border in retribution for the bloc’s and other Western countries’ broad sanctions imposed on Minsk in June. The charges have been frequently disputed by Lukashenko’s regime, which blames the West for perilous, often deadly, border crossings and terrible treatment of refugees.

On Tuesday, the European Commission accused Belarus of acting like a “gangster government” and criticized Lukashenko’s “false promises” that have misled refugees into believing they will receive “easy admission into the EU.”

The diplomatic drama comes a day after the border was breached by groups of refugees, some of whom were urged into the barricades by Belarusian services, according to the Polish border guard.
Mariusz Bazczak, the chairman of the Polish Ministry of Defense, later described the attempted barrier crossing as a “attack,” which he warned would “definitely be repeated.”

Polish authorities on Tuesday morning closed the Kuznica border crossing — where huge numbers of migrants were seen congregating the day before.

Some 4,500 migrants are currently at the border near Kuznica trying to cross into Poland from Belarus, Polish border guard press officer Ewelina Szczepańska told CNN.

The Belarusian State Border Committee — which is responsible for the country’s external borders — said in a statement that there are around 2,000 migrants at the scene.

Around 14,000 Polish soldiers, police and border guards are now stationed in the area, sparking fears of a major confrontation as migrants attempt to cross into Poland.

The situation on the ground appeared calm on Tuesday, according to Juergen Weichert, a journalist working for CNN German affiliate n-tv in Kuznica. Weichert reported that Polish police were trying to clear the area as much as possible, and that migrants on the Belarusian side of the fence were still trying to get through the barbed wire north and south of the closed Kuznica crossing.

Footage provided by the Belarus State Border Committee showed migrants wrapped in coats and hoodies huddled around small campfires, with aerial shots showing camps dotted along the Belarusian side of the border close to nearby forests. The video also showed the movement of what appeared to be military vehicles on the Polish side.