Belarusian services destroy border barrier Polish Border Guard says

Belarusian services use specialised tools to damage the fence at the border with Poland, Polish Border Guard has said.

Poland has completed construction of a 187-kilometre-long fence stretching along the Polish-Belarusian border in response to last year's crisis caused by thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, attempting to cross the Polish frontier from Belarus and enter the European Union.

In addition to the five-metre high wall made of steel spans, electronic surveillance systems are being installed to secure a total of 202 kilometres.

On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Polish Border Guard (SG) told PAP, citing migrants detained on the Polish side, that Belarusian officers "not only drive migrants to the border, but also try to force the security measures to clear the way for them."

Anna Michalska said that according to the migrants' reports, they were brought to the Polish border and told to turn around while the Belarusian officers used specialised equipment to cut through the fence.

"The Belarusian services let groups of two to five people cross through the passage and only in wetlands they release slightly larger groups," she said.

According to Michalska, the number of attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border has recently decreased tenfold, from 800 to 80 attempts a day, due to the physical barrier.