The Polish authorities introduced Wednesday that it’s planning to deploy an extra 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the quantity the Border Guard company had requested, as fears of unlawful migration rise.
In an interview with state information company PAP, a deputy inside minister, Maciej Wasik introduced the choice and accused the Belarusian authorities of organizing unlawful migration.
He stated migration stress on the Polish-Belarusian border space is rising, though it can not examine to the scenario two years in the past.
At the time, massive numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa arrived on the border, their journey there facilitated by flights and visas supplied by the Minsk authorities — one thing Warsaw thought of to be a type of “hybrid warfare.”
“If we had real border guards on the other side and not a smuggling service, these crossings would not exist at all,” Wasik stated.
Polish authorities retaliated by constructing a tall metal wall, which has decreased the numbers of migrants and refugees crossing the border, however didn’t cease them totally.
The fallout from Russia’s battle towards Ukraine has introduced different considerations, together with the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus this summer season after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.
Earlier this week Belarus additionally started navy workout routines close to its border with Poland and Lithuania. And final week two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly into Polish air area in what was seen by Warsaw as a deliberate provocation.
The new troops will likely be an addition to the two,000 already on the border. They assist the work of lots of of police and Border Guard officers, in line with PAP.
Wasik stated the brand new troops would attain their vacation spot throughout the coming two weeks.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda introduced Tuesday that Poland will maintain its parliamentary election on Oct. 15. The ruling authorities that he’s allied with have been making an attempt to point out voters that they’re critical about safety and protection as they search a 3rd time period.