Belarus-Poland border cross attempt sees a 500 strong migrant group clash with forces

A desperate Belarus-Poland border attempt on Wednesday evening saw at least 500 people trying to cross the border near the Polish village of Dubicze Cerkiewne. The Polish Border Forces spokeswoman said several hundred people managed to get into Polish territory before being stopped by border guards. Adding: "A man, a woman and three children were taken to hospital and treated for injuries." Around 200-300 people, mainly men but also families with young children, remained huddled around makeshift fires near the Kuznica-Bruzgi border point, a Reuters reporter on the Belarusian side of the frontier said. Poland Border Forces said on Thursday the number of attempts to cross its border from Belarus had risen, while thousands of migrants remained trapped on the frontier in frozen woods in a stand-off between East and West. The migrants, many of them from Iraq, have been barred either from entering Poland or returning into Belarus, though some were due to return to Iraq on a first flight from the Belarusian capital Minsk later on Thursday. A Polish border guard spokeswoman said more than 500 attempts had been made to cross the border in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total in November alone to more than 6,000. By comparison, only 90 attempts were made in the whole of 2020, she said. European countries accuse Minsk of flying in thousands of migrants and pushing them to cross the border illegally as a tactic to punish Europe for sanctions imposed over a Belarusian crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Belarus calls the accusation that it created the crisis absurd, but says the European Union must lift sanctions if it wants to resolve it. The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world Become a Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesun/ Follow The Sun on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSun Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/The_Sun/1633225139 #Poland #Belarus #Migrants