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DPA
Moscow/Warsaw
Belarusian officials want to send migrants massed at its borders with the EU back to their home countries, a move that could defuse a crisis with the EU, but spark stand-offs with people unwilling to return to war zones.
“We are actively working on convincing these people to head home,” said President Alexander Lukashenko in comments to the Belta news agency.
Lukashenko stands accused of putting the migrants in this situation in the first place, allegedly as part of an attempt to put pressure on the EU for refusing to recognize his re-election last year, a process that EU officials say was bogged down in trickery and violence.
He denies the EU’s allegations that the people were allowed entry from places like Afghanistan and the Middle East and then transported to the EU border.
Most of the attention has been focused on the Polish border, where officials have erected fences and set up controls to push back the migrants. The migrants have reportedly not been allowed to go back by Belarusian forces, leaving thousands trapped in a no man’s land with dwindling resources as winter weather creeps in.
Polish authorities watching a border crossing near the town of Kuznica say the number of migrants on the Belarusian side of the border is steadily growing. Police say the crowd now numbers at about 3,500, Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesperson for the country’s intelligence services, tweeted.
The tweet was accompanied by aerial photos of the crowd.
Ominously, the Defence Ministry tweeted that a nearby tent camp was practically empty, leading to speculation that Belarusian officials are preparing to try to provoke the crowd to attempt to push its way through the border.
“The sounds of shots, probably blanks, is part of the everyday situation that our soldiers and civil servants have had to get used to,” tweeted the Defence Ministry.
Out of concern about a potential attempt at the border, a border patrol spokesperson said that the agency had sent “all the forces we have available” to that site.
Belarusian officials confirmed that a large column of people was moving to the border, but insisted that the people had organized themselves.
Pupils have been told to stay home and learn remotely for the next few days, given the situation.
It remains impossible to independently verify any of the information, as both Belarusian and Polish officials are keeping journalists and aid groups far away from the border.
Lukashenko said himself that it is not clear if the situation can be unwound with his plan to send the people back to their home countries.
“Nobody wants to go back,” he told Belta. “These people are very stubborn.” He offered to fly them back with the country’s Belavia air carrier.
Iraq says it is organizing a flight on Thursday to repatriate citizens on the Poland-Belarus border who wish to return to their country.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told the official Iraqiya TV late on Sunday that hundreds have already been repatriated voluntarily in the past months.
The government is aware of around 750 Iraqis stuck at the border and are living in difficult weather conditions, but there are more in forest areas at the border and it is difficult to reach them without the help of international organizations, al-Sahaf said.
Iraq suspended regular flights to Belarus few months ago. It also suspended the work of the Belarussian consul in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil in order to stop the issuance of visas, he added.
EU ministers are meeting to discuss new sanctions on Belarus in light of the border crisis. Lukashenko has promised new, unspecified, retaliation should more sanctions come into being. “We will defend ourselves.” He also noted that the presence of the migrants was causing tensions in his country, which he said could not be allowed.
Moscow/Warsaw
Belarusian officials want to send migrants massed at its borders with the EU back to their home countries, a move that could defuse a crisis with the EU, but spark stand-offs with people unwilling to return to war zones.
“We are actively working on convincing these people to head home,” said President Alexander Lukashenko in comments to the Belta news agency.
Lukashenko stands accused of putting the migrants in this situation in the first place, allegedly as part of an attempt to put pressure on the EU for refusing to recognize his re-election last year, a process that EU officials say was bogged down in trickery and violence.
He denies the EU’s allegations that the people were allowed entry from places like Afghanistan and the Middle East and then transported to the EU border.
Most of the attention has been focused on the Polish border, where officials have erected fences and set up controls to push back the migrants. The migrants have reportedly not been allowed to go back by Belarusian forces, leaving thousands trapped in a no man’s land with dwindling resources as winter weather creeps in.
Polish authorities watching a border crossing near the town of Kuznica say the number of migrants on the Belarusian side of the border is steadily growing. Police say the crowd now numbers at about 3,500, Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesperson for the country’s intelligence services, tweeted.
The tweet was accompanied by aerial photos of the crowd.
Ominously, the Defence Ministry tweeted that a nearby tent camp was practically empty, leading to speculation that Belarusian officials are preparing to try to provoke the crowd to attempt to push its way through the border.
“The sounds of shots, probably blanks, is part of the everyday situation that our soldiers and civil servants have had to get used to,” tweeted the Defence Ministry.
Out of concern about a potential attempt at the border, a border patrol spokesperson said that the agency had sent “all the forces we have available” to that site.
Belarusian officials confirmed that a large column of people was moving to the border, but insisted that the people had organized themselves.
Pupils have been told to stay home and learn remotely for the next few days, given the situation.
It remains impossible to independently verify any of the information, as both Belarusian and Polish officials are keeping journalists and aid groups far away from the border.
Lukashenko said himself that it is not clear if the situation can be unwound with his plan to send the people back to their home countries.
“Nobody wants to go back,” he told Belta. “These people are very stubborn.” He offered to fly them back with the country’s Belavia air carrier.
Iraq says it is organizing a flight on Thursday to repatriate citizens on the Poland-Belarus border who wish to return to their country.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told the official Iraqiya TV late on Sunday that hundreds have already been repatriated voluntarily in the past months.
The government is aware of around 750 Iraqis stuck at the border and are living in difficult weather conditions, but there are more in forest areas at the border and it is difficult to reach them without the help of international organizations, al-Sahaf said.
Iraq suspended regular flights to Belarus few months ago. It also suspended the work of the Belarussian consul in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil in order to stop the issuance of visas, he added.
EU ministers are meeting to discuss new sanctions on Belarus in light of the border crisis. Lukashenko has promised new, unspecified, retaliation should more sanctions come into being. “We will defend ourselves.” He also noted that the presence of the migrants was causing tensions in his country, which he said could not be allowed.
