Poland plans fence on Belarus border, offers aid to migrants
By VANESSA GERA
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland plans to build a fence along its border with Belarus and deploy more soldiers there to stop migrants seeking to enter the European Union nation.
We are dealing with an attack on Poland
Poland and the three Baltic states - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending migrants across their borders, which also form part of the EU’s eastern border, in what they call a “hybrid war.” The migrants are mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq.
All four EU nations believe the surge in migrants is Minsk’s revenge for the EU’s sanctions against the autocratic regime in Belarus.
“Using immigrants to destabilize neighboring countries constitutes a clear breach of the international law and qualifies as a hybrid attack against ... Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and thus against the entire European Union,” they said in a joint statement Monday.
The Polish government said last week that 2,100 migrants had tried to enter Poland illegally from Belarus so far in August. Almost 800 of them got in and have been placed in state-run centers.
In response to the migrants’ arrival, Poland said it had deployed over 900 soldiers to the border with Belarus and was reinforcing the border with 150 kilometers (93 miles) of barbed wire. On Monday, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said more soldiers would be sent and a fence 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall would be erected on the border.