TVN24 has seen footage from Minsk showing large groups of migrants, most likely from the Middle East. In one video, dozens of people are waiting at a parking lot in the city centre. In recent weeks, migrants have been flying in to Belarusian capital, from where they are being transported in buses to the border with Poland and Lithuania.
The footage seen by TVN24 was shot on Tuesday. It shows groups of migrants gathering in Minsk. Most of them are male.
One video shows people waiting at a parking lot in the city centre. For weeks now, migrants are being transported in buses to the border with Poland. Other video shows crowds of people sitting inside a shopping mall.
The videos were shot and sent to TVN24, even though, for recording such materials in Belarus without permit, one can face serious consequences. The capital of Belarus is being constantly patrolled by the OMON and other security services.
Poland's Border Guard published a video of migrants leaving the campsite near Kuźnica and said in a tweet they were "moving to an unknown location under the supervision of Belarusian services".
Polish security forces fired water cannons at rock-throwing migrants on the border with Belarus on Tuesday.
The video footage showed a collection of items allegedly thrown at Polish border guards and police officers including rocks, sticks and footwear.
Seven police officers were hurt, the latest in a crisis the European Union says is orchestrated by Belarus - an ally of Russia - in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed over a crackdown on political protests, a charge that Minsk denies.
Up to 4,000 migrants, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, are now waiting in freezing forests on what is not only Poland's frontier but is also the external border of the EU and NATO, the Western military alliance. At least eight migrants have died at the border during the crisis.
NATO reiterated its support for Warsaw in a crisis that has left thousands stranded on the frontier in icy temperatures.
EU in a bind
The EU has so far largely supported Poland's nationalist government in taking a hard line at the border, for fear that allowing migrants to cross would cause many more to try to enter and travel on to wealthier countries.
Preventing uncontrolled immigration has been a central political issue for the bloc since 2015, when more than a million people arrived from the Middle East and Africa, straining security and welfare systems. Hostility to lax borders was blamed for a surge in nationalist political movements across the bloc, and even Britain's vote to quit.
The EU has since tightened external borders and given money to host migrants in countries such as Turkey, and stop them along migration routes in Libya, Tunisia and elsewhere.
Rights groups decry the EU's restrictive tactics as aggravating human suffering. They say those at the Polish border are entitled to humane treatment and to have any asylum claims heard.
Police in Germany - a top destination for immigrants once they reach the EU - said on Nov. 15 they had registered 9,549 illegal entries from Belarus via Poland this year. They reported only 26 such cases between January and July, rising to 474 arrivals in August, 1,903 in September and 5,285 in October.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24