Fifty migrants cross the border with Poland from Belarus

About fifty migrants crossed the border barricades from Belarus on Saturday evening and entered Poland. Polish police let us know on Sunday local media. Polish customs report that everyone who reached Poland was eventually arrested and returned to Belarus by border guards. A total of 223 attempts were made to illegally cross Europe’s eastern border on Saturday.

Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, are currently staying in Belarus on the border with Poland, hoping to make the crossing to the European Union (EU). Polish customs expect more massive crossings in the coming days. Tensions in the border area have been mounting for days. Polish soldiers were reportedly bombarded with stones and there is already several deaths in the area linked to the border conflict. The migrants, including women and children, remained in makeshift camps for days with temperatures approaching freezing.

Belarus is responsible for the situation, according to EU countries. The country is reportedly helping migrants cross the Polish border out of discontent and pressuring Brussels to relax sanctions. The EU also accuses Russia of transporting at least two thousand migrants to the border area. Russia is an ally of Belarus. Moscow and Minsk deny these allegations. Russian President Vladimir Putin cites Western wars as the cause of the problem. Putin said on Sunday that he would help settle the situation on the border with Poland, Reuters news agency reported.