Poland will increase to 10,000 the number of its troops deployed to help border guards prevent migrants from crossing its border from Belarus, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced Monday (October 25th).
Read also Poland introduces a state of emergency on the border with Belarus
The announcement follows a series of incidents along the border, with large groups of migrants attempting to demolish a barbed wire fence recently erected by Poland. “
We are increasing the number of soldiers to help the border guard corps by 2,500. Soon, around 10,000 soldiers will be keeping the border secure
, ”the minister said on Twitter.
Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross the border from Belarus since the summer.
The European Union accuses the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko of bringing nationals of countries in the Middle East and Africa to Minsk and then passing them across the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in retaliation for the economic sanctions imposed by the EU on his regime.
Half a dozen migrants have died trying to cross these EU external borders.
And two new incidents were reported by Polish border guards this weekend.
Read alsoRule of law: Europeans want to avoid escalation with Poland
On Sunday, two soldiers had to be hospitalized after around 60 migrants tried to force their way into Poland, throwing sticks and stones at the security forces.
A similar incident involving 70 migrants happened on Saturday.
Warsaw, which is considering the construction of a wall, has imposed a state of emergency in the area where migrants are caught between Belarusian border guards and Polish law enforcement agencies who return them, according to NGOs .
