Poland boosts number of troops on border with Belarus

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - Poland has sent more soldiers to its border with Belarus in recent weeks, the Polish defense ministry said on Tuesday.

"A safe border is the basis of Poland's security," Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish Radio.

Blaszczak said that some 10,000 were sent to the border so far – 4,000 directly at the fence and 6,000 in reserve.

He said the move was a response to the "pressure of illegal migrants sent by Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Minsk ... There are also more and more frequent reports of aggression from migrants, throwing stones at our patrols.”

“There is no doubt that the attacks were planned in Moscow. This whole thing about the attack on Poland is the Kremlin's idea to destabilize our country,” he added.

Blaszczak also said the Polish army will support the Border Guard on the border with Slovakia.

Soldiers will have the same rights as the Border Guard, including carrying out inspections. "Soldiers of both operational troops, territorial defense forces and engineering troops have been sent to the borders," Blaszczak said.

Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told a press conference at the ministry's headquarters in Warsaw on Tuesday that the government had decided to resume temporary border controls on the border with Slovakia.

"The controls will be introduced at midnight," said the minister, adding that it will be introduced initially for 10 days, but it is highly probable that it will be extended.

Kaminski said illegal migration through Slovakia had increased by almost 1,000% since last year. He added that some foreigners go through Poland to Germany and other EU countries. "In just two weeks, we detected and detained 551 illegal migrants," Kaminski said.