Polish law enforcement halted the blockade of the Kuzńica Białostocka border crossing, which began on Tuesday morning, as migrants used stones, grenades, water cannons and tear gas from the Polish side. After Polish media, MTI reported that three border guards were injured.
Polish border guards said Tuesday morning that migrants from the Belarusian side of the Kosice border crossing are attacking Polish law enforcement authorities. In the early afternoon, a spokesman for Stanisław Garin, the minister overseeing Polish intelligence, wrote on Twitter that the first wave of attacks had been halted.
Police said the siege lasted more than two hours. According to the Polish Ministry of National Defense, foreigners threw stones and grenades from Belarus at the Poles.
District police spokesman Thomas Krupa said the attack was prepared from start to finish, adding that the faces of the most aggressive people were covered and stones were carried to them in bags at all times, and objects resembling a slingshot were used. For grenades and stones.
Polish authorities reported three injuries. Stanislav Sarin said a Polish police officer had suffered serious head injuries. Later, the border guards also announced that the official who was hit by a stone was taken to the hospital. The Ministry of National Defense reported that a soldier was wounded in the face. The ministry also confirmed the firing of water cannons and tear gas from the Polish side. Public Service Radio reported that after the blockade, the migrants retreated to the border crossing, accompanied by militants from Belarus. The Polish side is still on standby.
Illegal immigrants have been arriving at the eastern borders of European Union member states bordering Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia for months. Tensions on the Belarusian-Polish border escalated earlier last week when large numbers of migrants were escorted to the border by armed men in Belarusian military uniforms. Since then, Polish estimates have placed 3–4,000 immigrants along the border.
There have been several attempts in recent days to breach the border en masse, with a number of provocations by militants from Belarus, according to reports from the Polish border guards.
(via MTI)
