Belarus has moved thousands of migrants camping on the border with Poland, to a nearby warehouse
In a major de-escalation, Belarus has moved thousands of migrants camping on the border with Poland, to a nearby warehouse, which is 100 metres away from the border.
Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, were living in freezing conditions in makeshift camps, in hope of entering the European Union (E.U.). The move comes after the President of Belarus – Alexander Lukashenko had discussions with the Chancellor of Germany – Angela Merkel.
The Prime Minister of Poland – Mateusz Morawiecki has accused the President of Russian – Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the migrant crisis at Belarus’s border with Poland. He also said that the President of Belarus – Alexander Lukashenko, who is close ally of Putin, is acting on behalf of Putin by allowing migrants to travel through Belarus and enter the bloc.
However, Lukashenko has denied the charges. Also, the situation turned tense when the migrants at the border threw stones and Polish forces and tried to destroy the fence. In retaliation, the Polish forces used tear gas and water canon to stop the migrants from entering Poland. They have accused the Belarusian authorities of providing stun grenades to migrants and also not stopping them from using those stun grenades.
Separately, Iraq has also airlifted 430 of Iraqis from the border. Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom (U.K.) – Ben Wallace has announced to send 150 British troops to help reinforce Poland’s border with Belarus. These soldiers would not be combat troops but people with the ability to build roads and checkpoints and observation posts.
Speaking on the occasion, Wallace said, “What we will do is send some Royal Engineers – that is part of the Army designed for building or making fences or roads or putting in infrastructure.”
He further said, “We are going to be using that part of our forces to help the Poles and potentially other Baltic states to secure their border.”
Earlier, Belarus had called for E.U. members to take in 2,000 of the migrants but the request was rejected by Germany and the European Commission. The relations between Belarus and E.U. have been strained
The European Union (E.U.) and Belarus have not been keeping good times after E.U. refused to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate of Belarus. He is accused of rigging the August 9, 2020 polls. Lukashenko has denied all allegations of vote-rigging. It is believed he sought help from Russia to stay in power. E.U. has also imposed several sanctions on Belarus. This was followed by mass protest across the country where people demanded his immediate resignation. The protests are still being held every Sunday. Tens of thousands of protesters have been detained and many have been brutally beaten.
