Belarusian Border Guards Say Prevented Another Attempt To Bring Migrants Over From Poland

Belarusian border guards said on Monday they had prevented Polish forces from illegally bringing another group of migrants to the Belarusian territory

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2021) Belarusian border guards said on Monday they had prevented Polish forces from illegally bringing another group of migrants to the Belarusian territory.

"On September 12, at the section of the Tushemlya outpost of the Grodno border unit, Polish border guards were reported to have brought a group of refugees to the border. While people hid in the forest, the security forces went for a so-called reconnaissance mission to make sure that there were no border patrols from the Belarusian side," the agency posted on Telegram.

Polish border guards planned to secretly transport another group of refugees to Belarus, however, their actions were thwarted by the Belarusian border guards, according to the report.

Over the past months, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have reported an increase in the number of illegal third-country immigrants crossing over from Belarus, and accused Minsk of using migration as a hybrid weapon.

According to Polish estimates, more than 4,000 attempts to illegally enter Poland from Belarus were made since August. In response, Warsaw has introduced a state of emergency on the territories neighboring Belarus, mobilizing the army and the police to protect the border.

Minsk, in turn, argues it can no longer afford tough border security due to Western sanctions and refuses to "seriously" discuss the issue until imposed sanctions are lifted.