Belarusian military push refugees, including children, into Poland, Polish military sprays them with tear gas

On the border between Belarus and Poland, tensions are rising over the influx of refugees and the growing number of incidents there. Video footage recently published on social media shows how Belarusian armed soldiers are using force to push migrants, including children and women, over a border fence into Poland.   

The large number of people on the border is also being reported by, for example, the independent Belarusian news portal Nasha Niva, which has also published footage of groups of people on the border. They are accompanied by armed soldiers, according to Naša Niva.  

Border guards on the Polish side are using tear gas against the refugees to prevent them from crossing the border. The footage, which was published on Twitter on Sunday by Belarusian opposition journalist Tadeusz Giczan, shows Lukashenko regime soldiers creating a human shield to prevent the migrants from turning around and re-entering Belarus. 

According to a statement by the Defense Ministry of Poland, armed Belarusians have, in recent days, also attempted to fire flare guns at Polish soldiers. Thousands of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, have been doing their best for weeks to cross through Belarus to reach European Union territory. 

Agence France-Presse reports that both migrants and refugees are frequently testifying in Poland to the fact that Belarusian border guards are forcing people to cross the border with Poland, from where they are subsequently pushed back into Belarus by Polish authorities. Many refugees have, therefore, become stuck on the border in worse and worse weather with winter on the horizon.