Poland Gives Data, Details on Response to Migrants Crossing at Belarus Border

A member of the Polish Border Guard is seen exiting his vehicle near the border with Belarus on 14 August, 2021 in Zubrzyca Wielka, Poland. Photo: Jaap Arriens

According to the statement dated August 18, the Interior Ministry said 2,100 people had "attempted to illegally enter Poland" via the border with Belarus so far this month.

This is the first time the Interior Ministry has given out such comprehensive data since the number of crossings into Poland started intensifying in early August - part of what is seen as a concerted effort by Belarus's autocratic leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, to send migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Afghanistan, over its western borders in retaliation for the EU imposing sanctions on his regime for its violent crackdown after a rigged presidential election in 2020.

The Interior Ministry further said that out of that 2,100 total, "the Border Guard prevented the crossing of the border by 1,342 people."

The Interior Ministry did not specify in what way the Border Guard had prevented the crossings.

Some 758 foreigners have been arrested and placed in closed refugee centres, said the Interior Ministry, with 380 foreigners removed from Poland between July 1 and August 17, including to their countries of origin.

It added that in the last 24 hours alone, 138 people had "tried to illegally cross the border". Out of this number, 130 people were prevented from crossing the border and eight were arrested.

"The Law and Justice government is from the start opposed to illegal and uncontrolled migration," the statement noted.

The Interior Ministry said 100 kilometres of barbed wire have already been installed on the Polish-Belarusian border and a further 50 km is planned. Some 1,000 soldiers...