After several nights of tense standoffs between the migrants and border forces, tensions flared on Tuesday morning.
Polish
authorities, in a series of Twitter messages, said that border guards at the
Kuznica-Bruzgi crossing had been assaulted by people throwing “stones, bottles
and logs” and firing “stun grenades.”
“The
entire aggressive behaviour is coordinated by Belarusian services and monitored
by drones,” the Polish authorities said, posting videos of the confrontations.
“As a
result of an attack by people inspired by the Belarusian side, one of the
policemen was seriously injured.”
The
officer was being treated at a hospital for what was believed to be a skull
fracture, the authorities said.
The
Lukashenko government has denied allegations, including from the United States
and NATO, that it has engineered the crisis and is directing the movement of
the migrants with help from Russia.
“We cannot
let this so-called problem lead to heated confrontation,” Mr. Lukashenko told a
government meeting on Tuesday, according to Belta, the state news agency.
“The main
thing now is to protect our country and our people, and not to allow clashes,”
he added.
The number
of migrants at the border started to grow after Belarus eased its visa rules in
August. The EU and US say that Lukashenko — who is facing E.U. sanctions for
his brutal crackdown on the political opposition and the forcing down of a
Ryanair flight over Belarus to arrest a dissident journalist is using migrants
to gain political leverage over the bloc.
Watch the
confrontation below
Water cannon and tear gas at the Belarus-Poland border this morning. Chaotic scenes. This is what we saw. Camera @mattgodtv Producer @BBCWillVernon @BBCNews @BBCWorld pic.twitter.com/dyTRevu2fY
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) November 16, 2021
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