Belarusians who tried to cross the border threw stones and flares at the Polish police.
About 200 people tried to cross the border between Belarus and Poland and threw stones and objects at the police, the Polish border guard reported on Saturday, November 20. The largest group consisted of about two hundred people and there were also other groups of several dozen.
“The foreigners were aggressive, throwing stones and flares and using tear gas,” says a statement from the border force. In total, 195 attempts to cross the border illegally were officially registered.
Attempts to breach the Polish border, which is also the external border of the European Union, were successfully repelled by security forces late Friday near the town of Dubicze Cerkiewne.
Furthermore, the police reported the arrest of nine people suspected of organizing human trafficking. Among those detained are four Poles, two Ukrainians and a German of Azerbaijani origin, who were together with 34 refugees they were trying to help cross the border.
Shortly afterwards, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on radio station RMF FM that Belarus is changing its strategy, now sending small groups of migrants to different points along the community border.
“We are afraid to prepare, this problem will continue for months. I have no doubt that it will,” said Blaszczak. “Belarusian migrants and services have adopted new methods … smaller groups try to cross the border at different points. There is no doubt that these attacks are coordinated by the Belarusian services, ”he added.
Thousands of people remain in the border area hoping to enter the EU, whose authorities accuse Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko of using refugees to create instability in Europe.