Belarusian troops threatened to open fire on Polish soldiers who caught them escorting 250 migrants across the border in a major escalation on the edge of the EU.
The incident came as Vladimir Putin signed a deal with Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, that could hand Moscow control of Belarus’s borders and give Mr Putin the power to flood Europe with more migrants.
Poland: Polish border guards posted a video showing the preparation of a group of migrants by the Belarusian services for illegal border crossing.
Pologne : Les gardes-frontières polonais ont posté une vidéo montrant la préparation d'un groupe de migrants par les services de Biélorussie au franchissement illégal de la frontière. pic.twitter.com/Tqqu4XYIXN
— Rebecca Rambar (@RebeccaRambar) November 6, 2021
Lukashenka's army is backing migrants. We hear the reports that soldiers are forcing migrants to cross the border illegally, threatening them with guard dogs & beatings, giving them tear gas cans. Migrants are also not allowed to go back to big cities.
pic.twitter.com/UZUoGtSQex— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) November 15, 2021
NOW – Large groups of migrants gather at Poland-Belarus border crossing.pic.twitter.com/jEq3qog9dW
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 15, 2021
A wave of people has smashed the fence (not the border one). There really is a lot of people, the column stretched for about 1 kilometre, some people are still leaving the camp. pic.twitter.com/QdnNPa8uW0
— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) November 15, 2021
Polish Defence Ministry has published a video showing shots (most likely blanks) being fired from the Belarusian side. pic.twitter.com/8fXC2NrO4u
— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) November 15, 2021
In the morning, dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced that he wanted to fly the migrants back to their home countries. Shortly afterwards, the situation at the border worsened: More and more people are showing up there, trying to get to Poland – the EU.
Lukashenko said this in the morning, according to the state news agency Belta:
“Active work is being done to convince people to please return home. But nobody wants to return. ”
Immediately afterwards Lukashenko declared that he would also actively fly the migrants smuggled into the country to Germany – with his state airline Belavia.
“Yes, we will get the refugees out with our own planes and send them to Munich if necessary. We can no longer watch as people are left with no prospects and uncertainty at the EU border. ”
h/t Doorbert Returns