Minsk. The situation at the border between Belarus and Poland reached thousands of migrants on Tuesday. Belarusian state media showed in various video sequences how water cannons were used by the Polish side against migrants at the Kuznica-Brusgi crossing.
You could see people soaked, including journalists, who were hit by the water jets. The Polish Defense Ministry also released a video showing the use of a water cannon.
In Warsaw, the ministry spoke of an “attack by migrants” at the Kuznica border crossing. “The refugees are very aggressive and will throw stones at soldiers and security forces,” the ministry wrote in the short message service Twitter on Tuesday. They were also armed with pop grenades from the Belarusian side.
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Belarusian President Lukashenko says he has not established a migration route. © Reuters
Poland does not allow media
Belarusian footage also showed migrants throwing stones at Polish security forces. According to unconfirmed reports, the Polish side also used tear gas. Poland does not allow media reporting from the border area.
According to Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, there are more than 2,000 people in a “migrant camp” who have been there for several days. Crying children were also seen in the video posted. Lukashenko announced after his phone call with Chancellor Angela Merkel that he was looking forward to another conversation with her. Lukashenko said talks were also pending with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had offered to mediate in the conflict.
Many migrants are from Iraq. According to the agency Interfax, the country’s embassy in Moscow informed that about 200 people from Belarus now want to return to their homeland. These include families, women and children. An “evacuation flight” will be organized from Minsk for this Thursday.
