A young Syrian who died near Poland’s border with Belarus last month has been buried during a ceremony organised by a local Muslim community. It is believed to be the first funeral during Poland’s escalating border crisis with Belarus, which has resulted in at least eight deaths.
Meanwhile, tensions at the border flared up on Tuesday morning as migrants threw stones at Polish troops, who responded with water cannons.
The body of the 19-year-old Syrian, Ahmed Al Hasan, was reportedly found near Wolka Terechowska last Friday. He had flown into Belarus at the start of October and then is believed to have died when attempting to cross Poland’s border.
In recent months, Poland has seen tens of thousands of people who arrived in Belarus mostly from the Middle East try to cross into the European Union through its eastern border, with 5,100 attempts recorded by the border guard in November. Warsaw has accused Minsk and Moscow of using migrants as “weapons” in a “hybrid war” against the EU.
The man is said to have drowned almost a month ago. Al Hasan’s companion alleged at the time that he was pushed into the river Bug by Belarusian guards despite not being able to swim.
His body was moved to the mosque in the village of Bohoniki, where the local Muslim community organised prayer and buried him at their cemetery on Monday afternoon.
“The ceremony was attended by a number of journalists and Muslims, mostly from Syria, who are now staying in Poland,” Maciej Szczęsnowicz, the head of the Muslim Community in Bohoniki, told Notes from Poland.
Szczęsnowicz also fears that there will be more dramatic discoveries in the woods near the border. “We have to expect that this is not the last funeral,” he said. “We have to be ready for worst-case scenarios.”
According to Poland’s border guard, at least eight people have died on the Polish side of the border since the first discoveries in mid-September.
Another attempt to cross the border was made in the same location where Al Hasan’s body was found by around 100 people over the weekend, according to police reports.
Meanwhile, closer to the border, the situation has again sharply escalated at the start of this week. On Monday, 3,500 people, according to Polish police estimates, were seen to be escorted by Belarusian soldiers to the Kuźnica-Bruzgi crossing, where they set up bonfires and tents.
The crossing had been temporarily closed last week following a column of thousands of migrants marching towards the checkpoint and then dispersing into the woods.
This morning, migrants began throwing stones and stun grenades at Polish soldiers and border guards. The ministry of defence said that the weapons were supplied by Belarus, and Polish troops responded with water cannons until the riot died down in the afternoon.
Atak migrantów na przejściu granicznym w Kuźnicy. Migranci są bardzo agresywni, rzucają w kierunku polskich funkcjonariuszy i żołnierzy kamieniami pic.twitter.com/eCJTX6vQVq
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) November 16, 2021
The ministry also used Twitter to warn of further provocations: “Sounds of shooting, probably blank ammunition, have become common events which the Polish soldiers and officers have to face”.
“Belarus is pushing for escalation every day, using provocations and pushing migrants through to the Polish side,” wrote Poland’s defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak. He stressed that the “crisis was caused by the Lukashenko regime”.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov fired back on Tuesday, calling Poland’s response “absolutely unacceptable”. “Tear gas, water cannons, and shots over the heads of migrants in the direction of Belarus… This all speaks to the desire to conceal their actions,” he said, as quoted by Belarusian state news agency Belta.
Last night, a video emerged allegedly showing Belarusian soldiers pushing people onto the razor-wire fence amid screaming. Further footage released by Polish authorities showed Belarusian soldiers cutting the fence at night.
Something very bad is reportedly happening at the Poland-Belarus border! Belarusian soldiers are pushing migrants onto the fence. A woman is heard shouting, someone is using gas, Polish and Belarusian soldiers are shouting at each other. A lot (!) of swearing. pic.twitter.com/uZnPiQNbmp
— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) November 15, 2021
In response to the deepening migrant crisis, Poland’s government is working on a bill that would extend some of the limits on freedom under the current state of emergency on the country’s border with Belarus.
The amended law will, however, allow journalists to enter with the permission of the border guard.
Last week Błaszczak announced that British Royal Engineers would help with a “reconnaissance” mission to examine how the frontier can be strengthened. Poland has already deployed 15,000 soldiers and approved plans to build an “impenetrable” wall along its 418km border.
Main image credit: Agnieszka Sadowska/Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
