Shots Fired On Polish-Belarus Border As Illegal Intrusions Rise To Historically High Levels
The Polish Border Guard reported that members of the Polish Armed Forces were fired upon from the other side of the border on the October 7. The shorts were supposedly fired by a patrol of Belarusian guards. There were no casualties occurring as a result of the incident, however, it represents a very radical escalation of the situation that has led to the implementation of the state of emergency in Poland.
Polish Border Patrol spokeswoman, 2nd Lt. Anna Michalska, said in a statement:
“A patrol of Belarusian forces opened fire in the direction of the Polish Armed Forces service members, who secure the border along with the Polish Border Patrol. Blank ammunition was probably used.”
The Belarus charge d’affaires was called by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 8 October, in order to explain the situation to officials. Belarus denounces the use of weapons at the border, however, no solid evidence can be provided by either side to prove that the incident took place.
In addition to the incident, the Polish Border Patrol continues to report an increase in the number of border violations and attempts to cross the border by illegal immigrants who are supposedly instructed by Belarusian soldiers on how to penetrate the barbed wire border fence. Each day roughly 600 intrusions at the border occur this represents a historic record number of border violations.
The Polish Border Patrol state that constant surveillance is underway. Reporters and activists are not allowed to enter border areas and are halted by the police, military, and border patrol units. It is difficult to guage the situation from the Border Patrol reports alone. What we can be certain of is that the situation continues to escalate.