Poland-Belarus Border Situation Deteriorates as Migrants Make Mass Crossing Attempt

Migrants massed on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland: Image: Polish Ministry of Defence

The Polish government called an extraordinary meeting of the crisis management team for 1pm Central Europe Time (CET). At the time of publishing, the standoff on the ground appears to be stable, with no major incidents as yet.

The latest worrying situation at the border is seen as an intensification of the attempt by President Aleksander Lukashenko to foment a migrant crisis at Belarus's borders with the EU. Since the summer, his authoritarian regime has been tempting migrants from the Middle East and Africa to travel to Belarus, whereupon they are herded across the EU borders of Poland and the Baltic states, in a cynical ploy believed to be in retaliation for sanctions the EU imposed on Minsk for the rigged presidential election in the autumn of 2020 and subsequent violent crackdown on protestors.

The Polish government has responded by ordering border guards to push back the migrants, according to human rights groups, and the imposition of a state of emergency over a 3-kilometre-wide stretch of land along the border. The effect is that migrants are bounced back and forth between the two sides, with many left to wander the forests in the area for days on end without access to food or shelter.

With Poland's state of emergency blocking media access to the border area, most of the information about Monday's developments comes from social media posts from the migrants themselves or those reposting them, as well as some official statements from the Polish government.

It's not yet clear why but today migrants have started gathering in very large groups in Minsk Nemiga district. Perhaps, something is going to happen pic.twitter.com...