Belarus' State Border Committee on Friday said that a Polish soldier has requested political asylum in Belarus in protest against Warsaw's ill-treatment of asylum seekers.
On Thursday, a serviceman of the Polish Armed Forces, Emil Ciecko, born 1996, was stopped by a Belarusian border guard unit at the Tushemlya frontier post of the Grodno border group. Ciecko told Belarusian soldiers that he was a soldier of the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division, which was dispatched to protect the border.
"Disagreement with the policy of Poland regarding the migration crisis and the practice of inhumane treatment of refugees, the serviceman asked for political asylum in the Republic of Belarus", the border committee posted in its Telegram channel.
Thousands of migrants have amassed at Belarus' borders with Poland and other neighboring EU countries since early summer. The Polish border guard recorded around 40,000 attempts of illegal border crossing by the migrants. Poland reinforced its side of the border by dispatching additional troops, heavy military assets and equipment, and building fences. European countries accused Belarus of being responsible for the migration crisis, while Belarus denied the claims, adding that it has "neither strength nor money" to contain the influx of migrants due to sanctions imposed on it. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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