Polish Authorities Report New Surge of African and Mid East Migrants from Belarus

The Polish Border Guard saw a surge in illegal immigrants coming via Belarus this week, with 134 attempting to cross into the EU and NATO member on Tuesday — a daily record number for the year so far.

The Border Guard released a statement on Wednesday indicating that the 134 migrants who attempted to cross from Belarus illegally were of various nationalities, including Afghans, Iraqis, Egyptians, Sudanese, and Cubans.

Eight others from Ukraine, Italy, and Poland were taken into custody by the Border Guard accused of helping illegal immigrants try to get across the border, according to a report from the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants.

Grupa Granica, a Polish humanitarian group, has claimed that thousands of migrants were forced to the border by Belarusian authorities earlier this month.

Silvia Cavazzini, from the Gandhi Charity, stated that the migrants have been given an option by Belarus to either fly home or head to Poland.

“The border guards have imposed an ultimatum on the occupiers. They were offered two options: reach Minsk airport and return to their country of origin, or leave in the other direction, on foot, towards Poland,” she said.

Activist Nawal Sufi also claimed that Belarusian authorities have been mistreating and abusing the migrants, some of whom are caught between border barriers erected by Poland and Belarus.

In one case, she claimed a migrant tried to cut through a wire fence to Belarus to reach Minsk and return to his home country, but was caught by Belarusians who used his wirecutter to cut of part of one of his fingers and beat the man.

Last year, thousands of migrants stormed the border of Poland from Belarus, with an estimated 11,000 passing through the country to Germany after Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko encouraged migrants to make the journey in what was described as hybrid warfare by Polish and European Union officials.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, Poland has also seen the arrival of over 2.1 million refugees fleeing the conflict.

The Polish capital of Warsaw is said to be under heavy strain as it attempts to house at least 300,000 Ukrainians.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.