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'Small team' of British troops deployed to Belarus border to support Polish forces amid growing migrant crisis

The Ministry of Defence said the British military personnel would be looking at "how we can provide engineering support to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border".

Deborah Haynes

Security and Defence Editor

Friday 12 November 2021 22:02, UK

Polish military police stay on guard at the Poland/Belarus border near Kuznica, Poland, in this photograph released by the Territorial Defence Forces, November 12, 2021.
Image: Polish military police stay on guard at the border with Belarus
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A "small team" of British troops have deployed to Poland's border with Belarus to support Polish forces amid a growing migrant crisis that Warsaw has blamed on pro-Russia Minsk.

Adding to the tense rift, Russian and Belarussian paratroopers are staging joint drills on the other side of the border as well as close to Lithuania.

The UK Ministry of Defence said the British military personnel would be looking at "how we can provide engineering support to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border".

What is causing the migrant crisis at the Belarus-Poland border?

Migrants gather near a barbed wire fence on the Poland - Belarus border
Image: Migrants gather near a barbed wire fence on the Poland-Belarus border

Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland's defence minister, said the British troops had joined a reconnaissance mission to explore how to strengthen a fence at the border.

Sky News understands that the service personnel arrived on Thursday and are due to head to the Polish-Belarus border.

Tensions are also growing between NATO allies and Russia-backed Belarus.

More on Belarus

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The Polish government has accused Minsk of flying in migrants from the Middle East and bussing them to the borders with Poland and Lithuania in a bid to destabilise the European Union.

Belarus denies the allegations but says it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.

NATO said on Friday it is looking out for any escalation in the situation on its eastern flank.

"We will remain vigilant against the risk of further escalation and provocation by Belarus at its borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, and will continue to monitor the implications for the security of the alliance," the North Atlantic Council, representing the alliance's 30 member states, said in a statement.

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Migrants' border turmoil stories
A map showing the border of Belarus and Poland, where thousands of migrants are gathered
Image: A map showing the border of Belarus and Poland, where thousands of migrants are gathered

"NATO allies call on Belarus to cease these actions, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to abide by international law."

The Russian Defence Ministry said that as part of joint war games, Russian troops will parachute from Il-76 transport planes in Belarus's Grodno region, which borders Poland.

Migrants sit on the ground in Grodno District, Belarus,
Image: Tensions are also growing between NATO allies and Russia-backed Belarus over the crisis
Migrants waiting on the Polish border
Image: The Polish government has accused Minsk of flying in migrants from the Middle East

The Belarusian military said the exercise involving a battalion of Russian paratroopers was intended to test the readiness of the allies' rapid response forces due to an "increase of military activities near the Belarusian border".

It said that as part of the drills, which will also involve Belarusian air defence assets, helicopter gunships and other forces, troops will practise targeting enemy scouts and illegal armed formations, along with other tasks.

Earlier this week, Moscow sent its nuclear-capable strategic bombers on patrol missions over Belarus for two days.

Polish soldiers and police stay on guard at the Poland/Belarus border near Kuznica, Poland, in this photograph released by the Territorial Defence Forces, November 12, 2021. Picture taken November 11, 2021. Irek Dorozanski/DWOT/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
Image: Polish soldiers and police stay on guard at the border near Kuznica, Poland
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere warmup at the fire gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene with Belarus over the migrant situation on that country...s border with Poland. Merkel spoke with Putin by phone on Wednesday. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP) PIC:AP
Image: British troops have joined a reconnaissance mission to explore how to strengthen a fence at the border

Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry PolyanAG百家乐在线官网, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that the flights came in response to a massive build-up of Polish forces on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Russia has strongly supported Belarus amid a tense stand-off this week as thousands of migrants and refugees, most from the Middle East, gathered on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland in the hope of crossing into western Europe.

Eyewitness: Migrants at Istanbul Airport told they cannot travel

As Belarus is accused of flying in migrants from the Middle East - as part of an alleged attempt to destabilise the European Union - Sky News producer Guldenay Sonumut witnesses some Iraqi-Kurds being told they cannot fly from Istanbul to Minsk.

It is 11am at Istanbul airport and passengers are queuing up at a check-in desk: men, women and children with their luggage and bags, hoping to get onboard a flight to Minsk. After about 20 minutes, an airline official comes to the front of the queue and asks all Iraqi, Syrian and Yemeni nationals to step aside.

About 80 people are singled out. While the rest of the passengers are being processed, they await an explanation.

Finally, they are told that no Iraqi, Syrian or Yemeni passport holders are allowed to board the flight.

The Turkish Civil Aviation Authority says that "due to the problem of illegal border crossings between the European Union and Belarus, it has been decided that the citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen who want to travel to Belarus from Turkish airports will not be allowed to buy tickets and boarding until further notice".

Those wanting to travel are Iraqi Kurds - either living in Iraq or Turkish residents - who have sold their belongings to gather enough money to reach Germany via Belarus.

Mihvan 脰mer Salih has his teenage daughter with him. He sold his car to pay for visas, flights, hotels and "facilitation". He tells me he had no work in Iraq, and no prospects.

Isra, 40, is with her husband Saba, also 40, and their three boys. She looks puzzled while showing me her Belarus visa, not understanding how they cannot travel when they did everything according to the rules.

A very young man tells me: "I will either go to Europe or die trying."

Turkey's decision has been applauded by European officials. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, tweeted a thank you.

But this is just a setback. Belarus is closed for now, but a new road into Europe will be found by desperate families searching for a better life in the west.

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