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Refugees are waiting on the border with Poland
Photo: Leonid Shcheglov / AP
According to the Polish police, a group of around 50 migrants crossed the border with Belarus and reached Poland.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, a police spokesman said.
The officers initially arrested 22 Iraqis.
According to a spokeswoman for the border guard, all other migrants were arrested shortly afterwards by border guards and soldiers.
The entire group had been brought back to the border in Belarus.
According to the police, another larger group tried to cross the border not far from the village of Kolonia Klukowicze - but to no avail.
The refugees threw stones at the officers, an officer was slightly injured.
The police also arrested four people in the border region who they believe were smugglers.
According to the information, these are two Georgians, a Polish and a Syrian who were traveling with refugees.
The information cannot be verified independently because Poland has declared a state of emergency in the border region.
Journalists and helpers are not allowed in.
Lukashenko lets refugees fly in
The EU accuses Belarus of targeting people from crisis regions in the Middle East and Africa and leading them to the Polish border.
SPIEGEL research shows that the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko uses a system for this purpose that now extends to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Dubai.
Polish government politicians and EU officials speak of a “hybrid attack”.
Polish soldiers and police have cordoned off the border.
Thousands of people have been waiting at the border crossing between Poland and Belarus and other parts of the border since Monday.
They have set up tents and build small wooden sheds for themselves.
The people are mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
Belarusian border guards prevented some from returning to Minsk.
Again and again they sent groups to other places along the border, for example in the direction of Lithuania.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with a state television broadcaster that he was ready to help resolve the crisis.
He had spoken to Lukashenko twice about the matter, but originally learned about it from the media (read more about Putin's role here).
Poland systematically carries out pushbacks
The situation on the Polish-Belarusian border is becoming more precarious every day.
The area is one of the coldest regions in Poland, and temperatures are already dropping below freezing at night.
The Polish police said they found the body of a young Syrian in the forest on Friday.
According to the officials, the dead man was discovered the day before near the village of Wolka Terechowska.
The exact cause of death could not be determined, it said.
Again and again individual migrants break through the border line.
Apparently they are being told to do so by Belarusian border guards.
Most people are then arrested.
Dozens of migrants reported to SPIEGEL and other media that they were regularly pushed back to Belarus by Polish border guards.
According to their own statements, they do not have a chance of applying for asylum.
The Polish parliament recently allowed these so-called pushbacks, although they violate EU law and the Geneva Refugee Convention.
Accordingly, people on European soil have the right to a fair asylum procedure.
slü / dpa