Belarus migrants: Two groups cross border into Poland as forces accused of firing shots into the air - Sky News

Two groups of migrants have reportedly managed to cross the border from Belarus into Poland, amid accusations that Belarusian forces have fired shots into the air near a makeshift camp.

Poland's Defense Ministry posted a video on Twitter with noises of what sounded like shots in a border area.

The footage cannot be independently verified due to a state of emergency in Poland that prevents reporters, activists and other non-residents from entering a zone near the border.

The Associated Press reported that all of the people who had managed to cross the border on Wednesday had been detained.

On Tuesday Poland reinforced its border with more riot police, a day after groups of migrants tried to storm through a razor-wire fence.

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The migrants are mostly from Iraq and Syria, though some have come from Africa.

It comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone that Belarus's "instrumentalisation of migrants" was inhumane and unacceptable and asked him to press Belarus's government on the matter, her spokesperson said.

More on Alexander Lukashenko

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What is happening on the Belarus-Poland border?

Thousands of migrants are currently gathered on Belarus's western border with Poland.

They have been involved in a series of efforts to make it into Poland, which is a member of the European Union.

Brussels believes they are being pushed into doing so by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s "gangster-style" regime, having being enticed into the country by the "false promise of having easy entry into the EU".

Polish forces say Belarusian security personnel have subsequently encouraged the migrants to cross into Poland by "firing empty shots into the air, simulating dangerous events" - and providing tools to help them destroy the border fence.

The EU has imposed crippling sanctions on Belarus following Mr Lukanshenko's victory in last year's election, which international observers say was due to intimidation and vote-rigging.

His actions involving migrants - mainly from Iraq and Syria, but also from Africa - are seen as a response to the pressure created by those sanctions.

Migrants have also been massing at the borders of Belarus's other EU neighbours, Lithuania and Latvia.

Mr Lukanshenko retains the support of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, backing widely seen as ensuring he cannot be ousted.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has suggested the EU should offer Belarus money to deal with the migrants, as it has with Turkey - although this is not seen as a realistic prospect.

Image: A migrant warms himself at a fire

The Kremlin earlier blamed the European Union for the migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, saying it was failing to uphold its own humanitarian values and trying to "strangle" Belarus with plans to close part of the border.

The latest developments come amid the most tense period to date after months of heavy migration on Belarus' borders with Poland, Lithuania, and to a lesser extent, Latvia.

The three European Union countries are located on the 27-nation bloc's eastern border.

Image: The Lithuanian army is seen at the border guard headquarters near the border with Belarus

The European Union has accused the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of trying to create instability with a new wave of mass migration to the EU.

EU leaders allege Belarus is retaliating for sanctions the bloc imposed on Lukashenko's authoritarian government over its brutal crackdown on domestic dissent.

Thousands of people were jailed and beaten following months of protests after Lukashenko won a sixth term in a 2020 election that the opposition and the West saw as rigged.

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2021-11-10 12:20:00Z
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