Polish authorities warned Monday (November 8) that hundreds of migrants were heading for the Polish border, the eastern edge of the European Union, from Belarus.
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Groups of hundreds of people
“
New information shows that the group is under the strict control of armed Belarusians. They are the ones who decide the direction the group takes
, ”he said in another tweet. "
The Polish services are prepared for all eventualities,
" tweeted Maciej Wasik, Deputy Minister of the Interior.
The videos, also posted on Twitter by Belarusian opposition Nexta, show groups of hundreds of people, with warm clothes and backpacks, walking along a road.
According to a geolocation made by the fact-checking service of AFP, one of the videos was taken near buildings in Bruzgi in Belarus, 1.2 kilometers from the border with Poland.
The signs along the route are in the Belarusian language.
Belarusian border guards confirmed in a statement that "
at the moment, a large group of refugees with personal belongings are moving along the highway towards the border with Poland
."
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EU accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who denies him, of orchestrating a wave of migrants and refugees, mainly from the Middle East to try to enter EU territory, in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by Brussels following a brutal crackdown by its regime against the opposition.
Migrants and refugees often report having been forced to cross the border by Belarusian officials and subsequently returned to Belarusian territory by Polish authorities.
At least 10 migrants have died in the region so far, including seven on the Polish side of the border, according to the Polish daily
Gazeta Wyborcza
.
Poland sent thousands of troops to the border, enforced a state of emergency locally and built a razor blade fence while approving the construction of a wall.