Migrant camps on Belarus-Poland border cleared, migrants taken to hangar

Until recently, some 2,000 people lived in appalling conditions in tent camps on the border, hoping to reach the EU. Sometimes they were without food or water and the temperatures were below freezing. Twelve people have died in recent weeks, according to a Polish aid agency, including a 1-year-old baby.

According to Belarusian President Lukashenko’s spokesman, there are still around 7,000 migrants in the country. Earlier today, Belarus offered to return 5,000 migrants and allow the EU to take in 2,000. The European Commission has previously said the EU does not want to negotiate with Belarus over the fate of the migrants. migrants.

Returning Iraqis

It was also announced today that the first Iraqis stranded in Belarus have returned to Iraq. Some 430 Iraqis had expressed their willingness to return after giving up hope of reaching the European Union from Belarus. 374 of them have since been taken to Erbil and Baghdad.

Some of the Iraqi migrants are still staying at the airport, others have been temporarily accommodated in a nearby storage area. There, according to the president’s spokesperson, they will receive mattresses, water, food and medical care.

The West has accused President Lukashenko of using migrants as pawns to destabilize the EU, in revenge for the sanctions the EU has imposed on his regime. Lukashenko has always denied having organized the flow of refugees to his country.