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Thousands of migrants and refugees have flocked to Belarus’ border with Poland, hoping to get to Western Europe. Many of them are now stranded at the frontier, setting up makeshift camps as Polish security forces watch them from behind a razor-wire fence and try to prevent them from entering the country. The European Union has accused the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, of aiding illegal border crossings in retaliation for EU sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging migration to Europe.

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Thousands marched in Warsaw on Thursday to mark Poland’s Independence Day, led by far-right groups calling for strong borders, while its troops blocked hundreds of new attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally from neighboring Belarus in a tense political standoff.
Security forces patrolled the capital and other cities for the holiday parades, which were peaceful, unlike in recent years that have seen some violence by extremists.
“We Thank the Defenders of Poland’s Borders,” said one banner displayed in Warsaw.
The march was overshadowed by events unfolding along Poland's border with Belarus, where thousands of riot police and troops are turning back migrants, many from the Middle East, who are trying to enter the European Union. Makeshift camps have sprung up in forests on the Belarusian side near a crossing at the Polish town of Kuznica, and with temperatures falling and access to the frontier restricted, there are fears of a humanitarian crisis.

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Two top EU officials, Josep Borrell and Margaritis Schinas, will also travel to countries such as Armenia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates to press them to stop people flying to Minsk, von der Leyen added.
Belarusian airline Belavia, which is already banned in the EU, is doing most of the "trafficking".
But Minsk airport data showed on Tuesday that Turkey's national flag-carrier, Turkish Airlines, which is popular with EU tourists, was still flying migrants from Istanbul to Minsk twice a day despite the border crisis.

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