Belarus taking migrants away from border camp by bus: Poland

Name: Water cannon and tear gas fired at migrants along Belarus-Poland border
Uploaded: 2021-11-17T14:09:49.000Z
Duration: 1 min 17 s
Description: Water cannon and tear gas fired at migrants along Belarus-Poland border

Maciej Wasik, a Polish deputy interior minister, says people boarding buses provided by Minsk and leaving the area

However, some apparently seen taking logs with them, raising questions about whether they are being moved to another place on frontier

Reading Time:2 minutes

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Migrants warm themselves by a fire at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on Tuesday. A Polish government official said on Wednesday that people who have spent days in a makeshift camp were being taken away by bus by Belarusian officials, offering the prospect of a possible de-escalation in a tense stand-off. Photo: BelTA via AP

Associated Press

Published: 10:09pm, 17 Nov 2021Updated: 8:16am, 18 Nov 2021

A Polish government official said Wednesday that migrants who have spent days in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of Poland’s eastern border were being taken away by bus by Belarusian officials, offering the prospect of a possible de-escalation in a tense stand-off.

Maciej Wasik, a Polish deputy interior minister, said he had received information that migrants were boarding buses provided by Belarus and leaving the area.

Poland’s Border Guard posted on Twitter a video showing migrants with bags and backpacks being directed by Belarus forces away from the border.

However, Border Guard spokeswoman Anna Michalska said some of the migrants were seen taking wooden logs with them, raising questions about whether they might be moved to another spot along the frontier.

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Water cannon and tear gas fired at migrants along Belarus-Poland border

A large group of people from the Middle East has been stuck by a border crossing with EU-member Poland since November 8, waiting and hoping to enter Europe. Most are fleeing conflict or despair at home and aim to reach Germany or other western European countries.

Tensions spiked on Tuesday when Polish forces at the border used water cannon and tear gas against stone-throwing migrants. Warsaw accused the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of giving smoke grenades and other weapons to those trying to cross the frontier.