Poland says “specialists from Middle East” digging migrant tunnels under Belarus border

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s interior ministry says that “specialists from the Middle East” have been brought to Belarus to dig tunnels under the border for migrants to cross into Poland. Four such tunnels have been discovered this year.

The most recent was found by the Polish border guard last week near the village of Narewka in eastern Poland. The entrance was around 50 metres inside Belarus, while the exit was located 10 metres inside Poland. The tunnel had a height of around 1.5 metres.

Electronic monitoring systems determined that around 180 people had travelled through the tunnel, but 130 of them were quickly detained by the Polish authorities. They were primarily citizens of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while others included Indians, Nepalis and Bangladeshis.

The border guard also detained two so-called “couriers” who had come to collect the migrants and transport them to western Europe. One was a 69-year-old Pole, the other a 49-year-old Lithuanian.

On Monday this week, the border guard announced that nine further migrants, mostly Afghans, who came through the tunnel had been apprehended.

Poland’s border guard shared an image of some of those detained after going through the border tunnel.

The tunnel was the fourth discovered by Poland along the Belarusian border this year. Speaking to broadcaster RMF on Monday, deputy interior minister Czesław Mroczek said that this is a sign of how effective Poland has been in sealing off the border.

“Digging these tunnels means that our effectiveness in stopping migration is so high that it was decided to bring in specialists from the Middle East to dig them, as our findings indicate from interviewing those who attempted to get to the Polish side,” said Mroczek.

The deputy minister was asked if these could be people who have experience digging tunnels in Gaza and Syria.

“We have Syrian citizens among the migrants,” he confirmed. “In short, we have people there who are experienced in such activities, and because previous methods have failed, they are trying to enter through tunnels. We are prepared for this. We are reconfiguring the entire system to detect underground activity.”

In further comments to RMF today, interior minister Marcin Kierwiński said that “migrants from Kurdistan [a region that partially lies in Syria] are involved in digging these tunnels”. But he made clear that it is the Belarusian authorities that are ultimately responsible.

Since 2021, Belarus has been encouraging and helping tens of thousands of migrants – mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa – to cross the border in what Polish and EU authorities call a “hybrid attack”.

In response, Poland has built physical and electronic barriers along the border and, last year, introduced a tougher migration strategy, including temporarily limiting the right to claim asylum.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Straż Graniczna (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.