Poland targets migrants at the Belarus border with water cannons
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The Polish Border Guard prevents migrants from entering the country through the Belarusian border crossing using water cannons.
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Members of a group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum are seen in Bialowieza, Poland, on Sunday, 28 May 2023 across a wall that Poland has built on its border with Belarus to stop massive migrant pressure. (AP)
African migrants face Polish water cannons as they attempt to cross from Belarus the Polish Border Guard said Sunday.
The statement the Polish Border Guard posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, stated that "On August 11, 106 people tried to enter Poland illegally, among them citizens of Congo and Eritrea," adding that "At the border guard station in [the village of] Dubicze Cerkiewne, a large group of 40 people, a group of aggressive foreigners, stormed the border."
Despite the fact that "One of them had a knife," and that "they threw stones," the Polish Guard announced that "a Tajfun car with water cannons was dispatched to the place," and that "The crossing of the border was prevented."
Oprócz pojazdów specjalnych #TUR do dyspozycji Straży Granicznej są obecnie przy granicy pojazdy typu #TAJFUN wyposażone w armatki wodne. Wczoraj jeden z nich został zadysponowany na odcinek #PSGDubiczeCerkiewne gdzie wieczorem grupa 40 agresywnych cudzoziemców atakowała granicę. pic.twitter.com/V7m2WXSLYz
— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) August 12, 2023
Poland finished installing fence on border with Belarus
Poland completed the installation of the 206-kilometer fence on the border with Belarus, which Warsaw accuses of being behind the migrant crisis that has hit the country, the Polish Border Guard Service announced earlier in June.
"Today the official acceptance of the construction works related to the installation of the electronic barrier on the border between Poland and Belarus was completed," the border guard said on Twitter.
The electronic system, Warsaw added, works along the entire length of the Polish-Belarusian border.
Read more: Poland to install electric barrier along the border with Russia
There have been massive tensions between Poland and Belarus over the migrant crisis in question, which has been taking place since November 2021, with Warsaw witnessing thousands of migrants and refugees attempting to cross its borders, most of whom come from the Middle East and Africa.
Poland confronted these waves of migrants by sending thousands of soldiers in addition to imposing a state of emergency on its borders. Authorities have worked to establish a barbed wire fence, an action that has exposed the Warsaw government to sharp criticism for its toughness in dealing with the crisis.
At its peak, Poland deployed about 15,000 soldiers along the border with Belarus, in addition to police and border guards, and imposed a state of emergency in the region.
Moreover, the EU accused Belarus of encouraging thousands of people fleeing war-torn parts of the world to try to cross its borders and has threatened to impose new sanctions on Minsk and airlines that transport migrants.
