Overnight, 100 migrants were arrested in Poland by police after another attempt at crossing the border. During which time guards were attacked with rocks.
Warsaw said Belarusian spetsnaz led an operation involving 500 migrants, instructing one group to throw rocks as a distraction before pushing another through a hole they had cut in the wire near the town of Dubicze Cerkiewne.
Even the Ministry of Defence published an image of troops wearing balaclavas on the Belarusian border. It claimed to have captured special forces in action.
The latest incident in what has become a day-and-night series of raids by thousands upon thousands of migrants camping along the border trying to reach the EU.
Poland claimed that 500 migrants attempted to cross the border in a massive attempt last night. They were led by soldiers from Belarusian Spetsnaz (pictured above).
According to border guards, the sptsnaz soldiers damaged the fence and had one group throw rocks at the wall as distraction. Then, they tried to force another group through (pictured).
Last night, 100 migrants were arrested after the mass crossing. Poland made a further 501 attempts at the frontier.
European ministers claim that Lukashenko created the crisis to try and fracture the alliance as a vengeance for the sanctions he has imposed on him.
Polish border guards recorded footage of large groups of migrants on the ground close to the crossing point.
A spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guards told MailOnline: ‘There were 501 attempts to cross the border yesterday.
‘There were several attempts to cross the border by force by large groups of foreigners – one of them numbered about 500 people.
‘The Border Guard carried out 31 expulsions orders to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland.’
On Twitter, the Polish Ministry of Defence stated: “Tonight, Belarusians attempted illegally to cross the border at Dubicze Cerkiewne.
“An estimated 100 migrants were detained by Polish authorities.
“The first reconnaissance was made by the Belarusian service.” They probably damaged the fence. “Then, the Belarusians made the migrants throw stones at Polish soldiers in an attempt to disorient them.
“An unsuccessful attempt at crossing the border occurred several hundred metres away.”
An additional post read: “Today’s attack was spearheaded by soldiers from the Belarusian Spetsnaz.”
Border Guard said that the mass crossing was one of only 501 attempts by Belarusian citizens to get into Poland.
In freezing temperatures, thousands of migrants camp along the Belarusian border. This is despite the EU claiming that the crisis was created by Alexander Lukasenko.
While the EU promised hundreds of thousands of euro in aid to migrants, they refused to allow them to enter their country. They compared the situation to “blackmail”.
Since spring’s crisis started, 11 people have been reported to be frozen to death on the frontier. Recent weeks saw attempts to cross increasing.
Many thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East are staying near the Poland-Belarus border, and in desperate conditions, trying to enter the European Union. This crisis began in the summer.
EU claims that Belarus caused the current crisis as a retaliation to sanctions placed on ex-Soviet Russia. Minsk and Russia, its principal ally have dismissed the allegations and criticised EU officials for failing to take in migrants trying to cross.
Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has spoken with Angela Merkel twice about the crisis.
Lukashenko and Merkel agreed that the whole problem would be raised to the EU and Belarusian levels, according to Wednesday’s press release.
It said that “Relevant officials” from each side will begin immediately negotiations to address the problems.
Steffen Seibert was Merkel’s spokesperson and stated that Merkel had ‘underlined’ the need for humanitarian care as well as return options for affected persons.
The spokesperson from the EU said that technical talks were ongoing and asked Minsk for humanitarian access.
Aid organizations claim that at least eleven migrants have been killed since the start of the crisis in the summer.
They demanded a deescalation as well as a humanitarian solution to this problem.
Poland believes there are between 3,000 to 4,000 migrants at the border. The largest number of them is located close to the Bruzgi Kuznica border crossing.
Belarus started providing refuge and help to migrants. This photo was taken in a warehouse at the border. However, Belarus is also accused of inflicting suffering on thousands of other people.
The photo shows a father and his two young children hiding out in a storage on the Belarusian side border.
Belarus asserts that the migrants are legal asylum seekers it tried to send home but they refused (pictured, man staying in temporary shelter in Belarus).
According to the Belarusian Red Cross around 1,000 migrants live in a warehouse close to that crossing, while 800 are camping nearby.
Belarus stated that it is preparing a voluntary flight for repatriation. It will take off from Minsk on Thursday at 1045 GMT. The plane will then fly to Erbil, Baghdad and Baghdad.
Many airlines stated they also want to discourage potential migrants from coming to Belarus.
Officials warn that it may take some time for the crisis to be resolved.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak stated Wednesday that “We must prepare ourselves for the fact” that the Polish-Belarusian Border situation will not resolve quickly.
He told Poland’s Radio Jedynka that “We must prepare for months, or even years.”
Fabrice Leggeri from the EU Border Agency Frontex said in an interview that the EU needs to be prepared for more ‘hybrid’ migrant crisis situations. This was also stated by AFP.
“We must be ready for situations such as this that can arise quite rapidly,” he stated, while comparing the present standoff with one at the Greece-Turkey border last summer.