The Belarusian authorities on Wednesday (November 10th) accused Poland of having violated four migrants on the border between the two countries, facing a migratory crisis which is the source of strong tensions between Minsk and the West.
"
Considering the numerous wounds on the bodies of the migrants, the Polish security forces treated them brutally and chased them over the barbed wire fence on the border with Belarus,
" said the Belarusian border guard service.
Read alsoMigrants: Europeans in the Belarusian trap
In a press release on its Telegram account, this source specifies that the four men, of Kurdish ethnicity, were discovered overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in a makeshift camp on the border, on the Belarusian side.
Images, published by Minsk, show several tents near the chain-link border, lit by log fires.
Three men with bloody hands or faces are seen in a video.
Thousands of migrants wishing to enter Poland are currently stranded on the border with Belarus in freezing weather.
Troops were deployed on each side, raising fears of an escalation.
Read also Tensions on the border between Belarus and Poland: Minsk denies any role in the crisis and accuses Warsaw
For months, Europeans have accused Minsk of voluntarily issuing transit visas to these populations, mainly from the Middle East, in order to destabilize the European Union.
According to Brussels, the Belarusian president is fueling this crisis to avenge the sanctions decided against his regime after the crushing of an opposition movement triggered following his contested re-election in August 2020. On Tuesday, the Polish Prime Minister accused him the Russian leader Vladimir Poutine, main ally of Minsk, to be the “
sponsor
” of this wave of migrants.