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Updated November 30th, 2021 at 17:21 IST

UN scales up aid to EU-Belarus border as worsening winter conditions lead to more deaths

As worsening weather conditions continue to threaten the lives of stranded migrants, IOM and partners have decided to scale up aid along the EU-Belarus border.

Reported by: Dipaneeta Das
UN
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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As worsening weather conditions continue to threaten the lives of stranded migrants on the Poland-Belarus border, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and partners have decided to scale up aid along the conflict zone, the UN said in a statement released on November 29. As per recent reports by the United Nations, as many as 2,000 migrants and refugees, predominantly Kurds and Iraqis are living under harrowing conditions in the warehouse along the Kuznica-Bruzgi border. Additionally, there are also a large number of people, including children and women from Middle Eastern countries like Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Cameroon.

The looming winter has also ticked up deaths due to hypothermia. While there have been repeated calls from international organisations for ensuring de-escalation of tensions along the border, the IOM estimates have reported an overall count of the migrants currently in Belarus is around 7,000, among which only a few have expressed will to return home. Calling for the voluntary return of the migrants accumulated along the border, Director-General of IOM, Antonio Vitorino on Monday said in a statement released by the UN that "the priority is the safety of these stranded migrants, upholding their human rights and preventing more deaths as temperatures remain well below freezing."

He also added, "We are committed to providing humanitarian assistance and working with authorities on both sides of the border, and those who wish to return voluntarily will be helped by IOM to do so in a safe and dignified way."

Meanwhile, it is to be noted that, as per Time magazine report from November 17, there has been no independent record on the actual death toll of the migrants after an emergency act passed by Warsaw in early September has prevented all non-residents, including aid workers, medics and journalists from stepping into the two-mile deep strip of forest between the countries. However, as per Polish officials, at least nine people have died so far in the conflict zone, which the experts counter to be much higher. 

IOM to organise charter flights for all voluntary returnees to Iraq

Acknowledging Iraq's efforts to repatriate migrants from the Belarus-Poland border, IOM also announced that it "should be providing charter flight for all those remaining who wish to return to Iraq in next two weeks." However, the agency explained that the process could elongate due to COVID restrictions that have been intensified after the emergence of the new COVID strain Omicron. It is pertinent to mention the Government of Iraq has assisted the return of over 1,000 of its first nationals in the past week. IOM has also facilitated the return of 44 asylum seekers to their homes with another 38 in the pipeline.

Migrant crisis at Poland border

The migrant crisis at the eastern borders of Poland and Belarus has dramatically escalated as hundreds of asylum seekers, from mostly the Middle East and Asia, began to set up tents behind barbed wire fences in hopes of crossing into European Union member Poland and further into Europe to claim refuge. As of November 9, Polish authorities blocked at least 2,000 migrants who congregated at the eastern Poland borders, hurling logs of wood at the security forces. Furthermore, several migrants living under harrowing conditions at the border died in recent weeks as temperatures began to slump below zero.

There have been at least 4,500 recorded border crossing attempts according to Polish authorities. In last week, around 1,000 attempted undocumented crossings were thwarted by Polish authorities, leading to detainment and further deterioration of crisis along the border. As per CNN, some migrants were also pushed towards the barriers by Belarusian services.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP)

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Published November 30th, 2021 at 17:27 IST

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