: In the Standoff Between Belarus and Europe, Migrants Are Being Used as Human Weapons #WorldNEWS Nights are a particularly dangerous time for migrants stranded without shelter in the forest that lies

In the Standoff Between Belarus and Europe, Migrants Are Being Used as Human Weapons #WorldNEWS
Nights are a particularly dangerous time for migrants stranded without shelter in the forest that lies on the border between Poland and Belarus.
Families who have made the treacherous journey from war-torn states including Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen are forced to wrap themselves in damp sleeping bags and huddle together for warmth as temperatures plummet. Polish volunteers and activists deliver soup and clothes in the dark, avoiding using flashlights so as not to attract the attention of Polish border guards, who they say will force migrants back across the border if found.
Some migrants have not eaten for days by the time the volunteers reach them. “I have never seen hunger like this in my life. People are starving and they have nothing,” says Anna Alboth, an activist and member of Grupa Granica, a Polish network of 14 NGOs assisting migrants. “There should be systematic help from humanitarian organizations that know how to do it,” she says.
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Stringer/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockMigrants warm themselves at the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, Belarus, on Nov. 10. Hundreds of refugees who want to obtain asylum in the European Union have been trapped in low temperatures at the border.
These migrants have become both the casualties and the unwilling weapons of a new type of conflict raging between the European Union and Belarus. The E. U. says Belarus has encouraged migrants to illegally cross into member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, in revenge for sanctions Brussels imposed on Minsk last year. Belarus has denied the accusation and said the E. U. was trying to divert attention from its own domestic problems. Hanging in the balance are the lives of thousands of migrants trapped in the forest in freezing temperatures, urged by Belarusian border guards to cross into Poland, then denied entry to the E. U. country.
The stand-off between Poland, the Baltic states and Belarus is escalating into a geopolitical conflict that could threaten the security of Europe. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe if the E. U. imposes more sanctions on Minsk over disputed elections that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in power. Ukraine said it plans to send 8,500 troops to its border with Belarus, fearing it could become the next frontier in the migrant crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko’s main ally and sponsor, to intervene.
“This situation is about the stability of the E. U. as a whole. Putin and Lukashenko intend to test the resilience of the E. U. and NATO,” Pawel Jablonski, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister tells TIME.