Poland blames Belarus of orchestrating migrant wave after four deaths near border

A week after Warsaw imposed a state of emergency, four people were found dead near the Poland-Belarus border. Following the incident, the Polish lawmakers accused Belarus and Russia of the significant increase in asylum seekers and mass movements across the border. "We are dealing with mass organised, well-directed action from Minsk and Moscow," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on September 20, Monday.

In a horrifying incident, as many as four migrants were found dead by the Polish Border guards on Monday. Additionally, eight others were retrieved exhausted and parched after they were found stuck in marshy terrain along the border. Seven out of them were immediately hospitalised, Al Jazeera reported. Thousand of migrants have been trying to enter Poland and other EU member countries namely- Latvia and  Lithuania in recent weeks.

EU suspects influx of immigrants fuelled by Minsk & Belarus

Over 7000 refugees were spotted on the Poland-Belarus border since August, PM Morawiecki stated. Echoing his statement, EU country leaders also suspected that Belarus is backed by Russian allies "with great determination" to move "tens of thousands" of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. As reported by Al Jazeera, according to Morawiecki, the huge wave of asylum seekers was pushed towards the EU countries to assert "pressure of illegal immigration to the EU's external borders" and as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's retaliation for sanctions on his regime.

The border crisis also prompted Emergency measures from Poland. Earlier this month, Poland declared a 30-days state of emergency to curtail the ongoing migrant crisis. As per the order, the country banned non-residents and media from the border areas. The current developments also attracted severe jibe from Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. On Monday, the leader hinted that Minsk is "using the migrants" to "seek revenge" against Lithuania, Latvia, and  Poland for supporting Belarusian democratic forces. She also slammed the Belarus President's regime as "irresponsible and inhumane."

Image: AP