(AP) Poland’s prime minister vowed Thursday that his country would stand firm and block migrants, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have been seeking to enter from neighboring Belarus.
Poland accuses the authoritarian government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending the migrants across its border, creating a humanitarian crisis.
“(The migrants) are people with whom I sincerely sympathize, but they are an instrument, a tool in the hands of Mr. Lukashenko,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.
He vowed that Poland would not succumb to “this type of blackmail.”
Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to the border and at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) of barbed wire have been laid as Poland seeks to prevent the migrants from entering.
