Polish soldiers guarding border with Belarus to receive bonuses
Warsaw
Polish forces have used tear gas and water cannon against migrants trying to cross into the country from Belarus.
Some of the migrants at the border threw stones at the Polish forces, the defence ministry says.
For weeks thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have been gathering at the Belarus border in an attempt to reach the European Union.
Belarus has been accused of pushing migrants to the border in an attempt to destabilise the EU, a charge it denies.
EU-Belarus relations have been severely strained since long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko declared victory in a discredited presidential election last year and tried to silence dissent by cracking down on mass protests and arresting political opponents.
The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus in the wake of the poll and, along with the US, will step them up following the border crisis.
There have been more than 5,000 attempts by migrants to cross the border into Poland from Belarus so far this month, compared to just 88 in the whole of last year, the Polish border agency says.
Poland’s defence ministry said its forces responded to migrants attacking a border fence at Kuznica. “The migrants attacked our soldiers and officers with stones and are trying to destroy the fence and get to Poland.
Our services used tear gas to quell the migrants’ aggression,” the ministry tweeted. Polish police said Belarusian forces stood by while this happened and accused them of supplying migrants with stun grenades.
A media reporter at the scene described his eyes stinging from the use of tear gas, adding that the migrants had been unable to breach the border.
Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak has promised financial bonuses to all soldiers currently serving on the border with Belarus through the ongoing migrant crisis.
“Thanks to the soldiers for stopping today’s assault. Thanks to you, Poland is always safe. All soldiers currently serving on the border will receive special bonuses. We are grateful to you!” Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.
On Tuesday, hundreds of migrants, amassed on the Belarus-Poland border, tried to force their way onto European Union territory, clashing with Polish security forces. Migrants threw stones and sticks, while the Polish security forces used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons.
The Polish police said that one of the officers suffered a massive skull fracture as a result of the clashes. The Belarusian side reported several victims of tear gas, including journalists.
Since July, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have reported an increase in the number of illegal migrant crossing from neighboring Belarus.
They accuse Minsk of using the migration crisis as revenge on the European Union for sanctions which it imposed earlier this year on Belarusian officials over alleged human rights violations.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country no longer has the capacity to prevent the movement of migrants toward the EU due to the sanctions.
In September, Poland declared an emergency in the regions bordering Belarus. To bolster security, the Polish authorities sent military personnel and additional police forces to the border. Barbed wire fences are being erected at various sites.
Last week, the number of migrants amassed on the Polish-Belarusian border surpassed 2,000. They camped near the Bruzgi checkpoint in the Grodno region. Poland refused to let them through.—Agencies
