On November 9, several thousand migrants remained on the border strip on the Belarusian side and in the woods near the Polish border. Some of them ended up near the Lithuanian border in the morning. Polish police report that the situation is almost calm. During the day, Polish border guards recorded 309 attempts to cross the border illegally; they detained 17 people. Belsat attempted to find out what was happening in the border areas of Belarus.
Residents of Belarusian settlements in the border area are concerned about the worsening situation at the border.
“Everyone is tense. We understand that if something happens, we will be the first ones to have to meet these people,” a resident of one of the border villages told us.
Locals are following what is happening and discussing the latest news in chat rooms. Some of them share the opinion that Belarus has enough law enforcement forces to control the situation. However, most note that law enforcement officers have only been watching migrants cutting down trees and destroying the border fence on the Belarusian side, and whether they will respond to the danger is unclear. People are discussing how they can independently organize self-defense and protect order.
Since yesterday evening, the border guards have blocked the M6 road near Hrodna; there are riot and traffic police at the gas stations. They check the cars. It became impossible to pass from Hrodna to Bruzhi. At the same time, according to eyewitnesses, there were seen groups of migrants of 30-50 people who called a cab and drove somewhere in different corners of the city.
Persons who looked like irregular migrants near the shopping center “Karona” in Hrodna. Photo from Belsat readers
On the afternoon of November 9, many migrants were spotted in the parking lot and inside the large shopping center “Karona.” Eyewitnesses say some migrants have tents with them.
Patrols with automatic weapons stop and check all cars and before the turn to the village of Karobchytsy, 13 km from the border. They look through the windows and let them pass.
“This, of course, is some circus. They check us, and there are more and more migrants at the border. Maybe they are growing there like mushrooms, or the border guards are checking all the wrong cars”, says an eyewitness.
Groups of migrants also regularly pass through the village of Karobchytsy. Border guards detain them and take them to the border.
According to Polish officials, there may be up to 4,000 irregular migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border in total. They intend to enter the EU.
