Poland to introduce state of emergency to stop migrant flows

The Polish government has asked the president to introduce a state of emergency in parts of two regions next to the border with Belarus, the prime minister said today, as the country faces a spike in illegal border crossings, Reuters reports.

The state of emergency will last for 30 days, Mateusz Morawiecki said.

Poland — like Lithuania — has seen a surge of migrants arriving across its border with Belarus in recent weeks. The government in Warsaw accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending migrants from Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere across the border in a “hybrid war” to create instability in the 27-nation EU. The borders that Lithuania and Poland have with Belarus form part of the EU’s eastern border, according to Euronews.

Poland has begun building a barbed-wire fence along the border.

It was reported yesterday that Poland detained 13 activists for trying to destroy part of a fence along the border with Belarus.

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