Migration crisis: 38 people force PL-BY border, Polish soldier wounded

“On January 19, 38 people tried to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border. At the Polish Border Guard post in Mielnik a group of 30 foreigners with the support of Belarusian services forcibly crossed the border. They were detained - they turned out to be Iraqi, Guinean, Pakistani, Syrian and Indian nationals,” the Border Guard wrote on Twitter.

So far in January, there have already been over 500 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus to Poland.

W dn.19.01 gr.🇵🇱🇧🇾próbowało nielegalnie przekroczyć 38 os.
Na odcinku #PSGMielnik grupa 30 cudzoziemców przy wsparciu służb🇧🇾siłowo forsowała granicę.Zostali zatrzymani-to ob.Iraku,Gwinei, Pakistanu,Syrii i Indii.#ŻołnierzWP został uderzony kamieniem w głowę-jest w szpitalu. pic.twitter.com/vCkGwFwP8i

— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) January 20, 2022

Moreover, “Last night, during the forcible forcing of the border by foreigners supported by Belarusian services, a soldier of the Polish Army was injured - he was hit in the head with a stone and remains in hospital,” the Border Guard added.

Minionej nocy podczas siłowego forsowania gr. przez cudzoziemców wspieranych przez służby🇧🇾,ucierpiał #żołnierzWP -został uderzony kamieniem w głowę, przebywa w szpitalu.
W tym tygodniu szpital opuściła #funkcjonariuszkaSG, która dwa tygodnie temu została uderzona petardą hukową. pic.twitter.com/nZuNHqz8Hp

— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) January 20, 2022

Migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border

Last year, the Border Guard recorded 39,700 attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border. In December, there were over 1,700 attempts, 8,900 in November, 17,500 in October, 7,700 in September, and 3,500 in August.

A ban on stay in the strip encompassing 183 localities in the Podlaskie and Lubelskie provinces in the border zone with Belarus was introduced for three months, from December 1 to March 1. The inhabitants and emergency services are excluded from this ban. Previously, a state of emergency was in force in the same area.

By mid-2022, a barrier equipped with motion sensors as well as day and night cameras is to be erected on the 180-kilometre section of the border.