Migrants use pontoon in attempt to reach Poland from Belarus: officials

Poland’s Border Guard agency says it has detained a group of 24 illegal migrants who attempted to reach the country from neighbouring Belarus in a pontoon. 

A Polish soldier stands guard at the country's eastern border with Belarus amid attempts by migrants to cross illegally into the European Union.

Photo: PAP/Wojtek Jargiło

“A group of 24 Iraqi nationals traversed the border river Świsłocz in a pontoon," landing near the northeastern Polish town of Krynki, the Border Guard said in a tweet on Thursday. 

“The foreign nationals were being aided by Belarusian services,” it added.

Minionej doby tj.22.12 granicę🇵🇱🇧🇾próbowało przekroczyć 48 osób.
Na odcinku ochranianym przez #placówkaSG w Krynkach grupa 24 ob. Iraku przeprawiła się pontonem przez rzeką Świsłocz na stronę polską. Cudzoziemcom pomagały służby białoruskie. Osoby zostały zatrzymane.#NaStraży pic.twitter.com/ESqBrPp2vy

— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) December 23, 2021

In all, 48 people attempted to cross illegally into Poland from Belarus over the past 24 hours, the Border Guard reported.   

Since the start of the year, there have been almost 40,000 illegal crossing attempts from Belarus, including close to 1,400 so far this month, the agency's data showed.

To stave off an influx of migrants, Poland has introduced new, stricter border protection rules and is set to build a 5.5-metre-high, 180-kilometre-long protective wall along its frontier with Belarus.

The protracted migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border escalated last month, with the European Union, NATO and the United States accusing Belarus' strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the standoff in retaliation for Western sanctions against his regime.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP