Migrants trapped on Belarus border in 'dire conditions'

Dozens of people stranded in stand-off at frontier with Poland

Polish security forces surround a group of migrants who are stuck at the border with Belarus. AP

Migrants are living in “dire conditions” with limited food and water amid a crisis on the EU’s border with Belarus, a UN agency has warned.

The International Organisation for Migration said people had been stranded in “extremely harsh conditions” for several weeks.

Dozens of migrants are trapped in a stand-off between opposing border guards after a surge of people to the borders of Belarus’s EU neighbours, including Lithuania and Poland.

The EU accuses Belarus of orchestrating the migration to retaliate against sanctions. But border guards on the EU side also face criticism for denying entry to migrants, many of whom are from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Some have been trapped for weeks with limited access to food, water, sanitation and shelter, the IOM said. It said there was a lack of adequate access to asylum.

“Prolonging this unacceptable situation poses a grievous threat to the migrants’ lives and health,” the agency said.

It said the countries involved should “ensure people’s well-being and human rights, including dignity and humane treatment, [and] allow humanitarian access to all migrants in need of assistance”.

Polish authorities sought to counter the claims of humanitarian groups. They said the migrants had been provided with food, clothes and transport.

Deputy interior minister Blazej Pobozy said it was a false narrative to see the migrants as “poor, hungry refugees who do not get help from anywhere”.

Poland has imposed a 30-day state of emergency at the border – approved by politicians on Monday – which bans non-residents from the area.

Critics say the measure prevents journalists and other civilians from gathering information at the border.

Some Eastern European countries, meanwhile, are worried about Russian-led military exercises due to take place this week.

Troops from Belarus, an ally of Russia, will take part in the war games that Poland says will add to the tension at the border.

“We do not expect a decrease in tensions on the eastern border because in a few days the biggest military exercises in 40 years will start,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus after a disputed election last year, which led to mass protests and arrests of opposition figures.

Sanctions were tightened after a plane carrying a dissident journalist was forcibly diverted to Minsk in May, where he was arrested.

The European Commission said on Monday that it could take further measures against the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

“The EU is ready to take action whenever there is an agreement … that the time is right to increase the pressure,” a spokesman said.

“We are reviewing the situation when it comes to the actions by the Belarusian Lukashenko regime and we will react as necessary.”