Belarus accused of “committing terrorism” as border crisis deepens
The lingering border row between Belarus and Poland is a result of the Belarusian president’s “quiet revenge” over Poland’s support of the opposition in Belarus.
This is one of the latest comments of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at a news conference in Warsaw with European Council President Charles Michel.
In a recent BBC report, Morawiecki was also quoted to have said that Belarus is committing “terrorism” over its role in the migrant crisis.
“It’s clear that what we are confronted with here is a demonstration of state terrorism,” Morawiecki said.
The European Union (EU) also commented that the Belarus leader is worsening the crisis.
Michel had had come to Warsaw to reinforce the EU’s solidarity with Poland. He said that taking advantage of these migrants to achieve political goals was “shameful and unacceptable.”
Thousands of migrants that came mostly from the Middle East have flocked at the border between Poland and Belarus in freezing weather, in hopes of crossing over and entering EU member Poland.
The European Commission has alleged that Belarus enticed migrants with the false promise of hassle-free entry to the EU as part of an “inhuman, gangster-style approach.”
The migrants are mainly young men but there are also women and children, according to the report. “They are camping in tents just inside Belarus, trapped between Polish guards on one side, and Belarusian guards on the other,” it stated.
In a separate CNN report, migrants stuck at the Belarusian side of the Kuznica border crossing are now suffering from “hypothermia and broken bones.”
Sanctions would be widened against Belarus next week, according to President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen.