The Investigative Committee identified 109 refugees who suffered from the actions of the Polish side at the border, BelTA news agency reports with reference to the head of the department of the Investigative Committee for the Grodno region Igor Chernyak.
For the fourth day, investigators are documenting the circumstances of the “inhuman behavior” of the Polish side: they used water cannons, tear gas, stun grenades and chemicals against the refugees, Chernyak said. Now 109 victims have been identified, including 22 women, 15 children, including 10 minors. Forensic medical examinations have been ordered for all the victims.
The representative of the Belarusian Investigative Committee named the nature of the injuries of migrants. Most often it is a burning sensation in the eyes, sore throat, chest pain, dizziness and nausea.
“Most likely, this is chemical poisoning. These circumstances have been confirmed by experts, ”added Chernyak.
A few days ago, the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border worsened: Polish security forces used tear gas and flash-noise grenades against migrants, BelTA reported.
Refugees “by all means” are trying to get into the territory of Poland: they said that “they are tired of waiting and are ready to break through.” In response, Polish border guards began to pour water from a water cannon on people in the cold, shots and explosions were heard at the border.
Last week, several thousand refugees gathered at the border between Poland and Belarus in an attempt to infiltrate the EU. On Monday, the group left the makeshift camp at the border and headed to the Bruzgi-Kuznitsa border crossing to try to cross the border there. Several groups of migrants tried to break into the territory of Poland, but the Polish border guards returned them to the territory of Belarus.
The European Union accused Minsk of organizing channels of illegal migration from the countries of East and Africa in order to force the community to lift sanctions from the republic. In the summer, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced the weakening of control over the flows of illegal immigrants due to European restrictions: according to him, Minsk has “neither the money nor the strength” to restrain the influx of migrants.
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