Polish Soldier Dies on Border with Belarus
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Amid rising tensions on the Poland-Belarus border, Poland's military reports the death of one of their soldiers.
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Polish soldier dies on the border with Belarus.
Today, Saturday, a Polish soldier serving on the Belarus border died in an accident involving a Polish weapon, according to a spokesman for Poland's security services.
"According to preliminary findings, there was a shot from a military service gun, as a result of which the soldier died, and no third parties were involved in the event," a statement by the commander of the soldier's unit posted on Twitter by spokesman Stanislaw Zaryn said.
Bardzo smutna wiadomość. Żołnierz @11LDKPanc zmarł w czasie pełnienia służby. Wyrazy współczucia dla najbliższych. https://t.co/KjP10wSoow
— Stanisław Żaryn (@StZaryn) November 13, 2021
Border conflict
This event comes amid rising tensions on the Poland-Belarus border. Poland has been 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.
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.
Turkey, Russia deny links
In the most recent released statements, both Turkey and Russia denied having any links with the conflict on the Poland-Belarus border.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's senior advisor confirmed to AFP today, Saturday, that accusing Ankara or its national carrier of responsibility for the humanitarian crisis at the border between Poland and Belarus is "misguided".
On his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin also denied claims that Moscow is helping to orchestrate a crisis that has left hundreds of migrants from the Middle East trapped on the Belarus-Poland border.
