Tensions flare on Poland-Belarus border as more migrants arrive

BIALOWIEZA, Poland — Surrounded by lush forests, a dozen people huddled near a razor-tipped fence along the Belarus border, waiting for a chance to scale it or push aside its slats to head west into Poland.

On the other side, armed Polish border guards and soldiers walked and drove back and forth, keeping a close eye on group, who were mostly young men from the Middle East, some of them marked with cuts from the sharp wire.

Tensions over migration are high across Europe as far-right parties calling for tougher controls face off against centrist movements in European Parliament elections, which are taking place in Poland on Sunday.

Here, that standoff has an extra geo-political edge. Poland and the European Union have accused Belarus and Russia of trying to spread chaos since 2021 by pushing migrants over the frontier in what Warsaw calls a “hybrid war”. Minsk and Moscow have dismissed the accusations.

The numbers of people arriving have been rising recently, according to Polish government figures. And this week, what Poland sees as a war had a casualty when a soldier patrolling the border died after succumbing to his wounds from a confrontation with migrants on May 28. In response, the centrist, pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to re-introduce a no-go zone along the frontier.

“This border is not safe, unfortunately. The purpose of this zone is to ensure that no one is exposed to the type of attack that Polish soldiers are exposed to,” deputy defense minister Pawel Zalewski told Reuters.

Back at the fence on Monday, the group kept waiting. Ahmed Lebek, 24, from Aleppo, Syria, said he had been there for more than a month. His brother had given up and gone back to Belarus, though he had had no news from him since.

“I come from the war to find a good life. But I found it very hard to cross this border,” said Ahmed, 35, an English teacher form Syria.