Polish border guards successfully repelled dozens of migrants as they attempted to violently break through from neighbouring Belarus in what may signal a return of the Lukashenko regime using illegals as a “hybrid warfare” vector against the West.
On Sunday a group of around 60 mostly young male migrants, reportedly predominantly comprised of Iranian and Iraqi nationals, clashed with Polish border guards as they tried to push their way into the country from Belarus at the border region of Dubicz Cerkiewne.
Footage posted by Poland’s Ministry of Defence showed migrants throwing stones and sticks at the border guards as they tried to breach through the wire fence separating the two countries with bolt cutters and wooden logs. In response, Poland’s border guards pushed back the migrants from the fence with pepper spray.
The MoD said: “Defending the inviolability of the border is an obligation, but also the right of every state. We reacted to the actions of the Lukashenko regime inspired by Moscow. Soldiers and service officers defending the Polish border faced and still face a real threat. We are grateful to them for this and we will continue to support them.”
According to the Gazeta Współczesna, there have been 1,077 attempted illegal crossings of the border between Belarus and Poland in September, with nearly 22,000 since the start of the year.
The conservative government of Poland has previously accused the Moscow-aligned Lukashenko government in Minsk of using migrants as a means of “hybrid warfare” to destabilize Europe. In 2021, for example, Warsaw claimed that Belarus was encouraging mostly Middle Eastern migrants to attempt to cross the border with Poland on promises of free passage to Germany. Violent clashes broke out on numerous occasions as the migrants were repelled from crossing.
To deter further exploitation of the plight of stranded migrants, Poland erected a 5.5-meter (18-foot) high wall along 186 kilometres (115 miles) of the border with Belarus as well as installing surveillance equipment.
In August, the governments of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia warned that in response to reports of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group amassing in the west of Belarus, they would shut down border crossings with the country entirely. The Polish and Baltic states went on to warn of a swift reaction if Lukashenko once again attempted to weaponise migratory flows.
The strong actions of the border guard in Poland over the weekend have drawn comparisons to the porous southern border of the United States under President Joe Biden.
In contrast to the actions taken by the Polish border guards to repel illegal migrants from crossing their border and breaching the wire fence, footage shared by Texas governor Greg Abbott this month showed U.S. border officials cutting through razor wire installed by the Texas government to allow migrants to come through into the country.
Last week, Breitbart News reported that two National Guard soldiers were disciplined for cutting razor wire along the Rio Grande river.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.