Poland sets up buffer zone with Belarus to halt migrants influx

Poland has constructed a border buffer zone to prevent the influx of migrants from Belarus backed by armored vehicles, police, army and border guards, in addition to means of electronic surveillance, local media reported.

The buffer zone aims to prevent support for illegal crossing of the border by migrants and to facilitate the work of Polish services

The Polish-Belarusian border extends about 400 kilometers, and in 2022 Poland built a 5.5-meter-high metal fence along 186 kilometers to prevent the entry of migrants.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters that the goal is to "make it more difficult for irregular migrants to cross the Polish-Belarusian border and create better working conditions for border guards, the army and the police."

In turn, Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mrozek said, "Basically, the region will extend over two parts, as we have the largest number of crossings over a length of about sixty kilometers."

Better border protection

According to Polish media, the buffer zone will cover the Hajna and Białystok regions. Its establishment by Poland is explained by the need to provide better border protection and increase the security of the officers guarding it.

According to the Polish Border Guard, on June 3 a border guard suffered a head injury when “a group of aggressive people” hit him with a stick. The officer is now in the hospital.

According to the Polish Border Guard, more than 17,000 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus have been detected since the beginning of the year.

Warsaw announced last month that it wanted to spend more than 2.3 billion euros to strengthen the border, accusing Russia of exploiting it to destabilize the region by launching “hybrid attacks.” Poland confirms that more than 90% of people who try to cross the border illegally have Russian visas.

Belsat website said that in the first week of operation of the buffer zone on the Polish-Belarusian border, border guards recorded an almost 30 percent decrease in attempts to cross the border illegally.

Since June 7, there have been nearly 750 such attempts, and in the previous week - from June 6 to 12 - there were more than 1,100 attempts.

In the first week of the organization of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, 11 attacks on Polish officers and soldiers were recorded. Five such attacks occurred in the week ending June 12.

As of June 4, officers of preventive police units from garrisons from all over Poland were assigned to operations in the Polish-Belarusian border region. They strengthened the police forces that previously operated in Podlaski District.

Poland, a member of the European Union, announced last month that it wanted to spend more than 2.3 billion euros to strengthen the border, accusing Russia and Belarus of exploiting it to destabilize the region by launching “hybrid attacks,” as it said that more than 90 percent of people trying to cross the border Illegal holders of Russian visas.

There are about 250 police officers, guides with service dogs and traffic police. Officers are equipped with various means of direct confrontation with migrants, including water cannons. In addition to electronic monitoring means.

Reporting by Faris Rifai