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Lukashenko accuses Polish forces of violation of state border during clashes with migrants

The President believes that the Polish forces acted towards the migrants "like fascists"

© Maxim Guchek/BelTA/TASS

MINSK, November 19. /TASS/. Polish law enforcement violated the Belarusian border during clashes with migrants at the Bruzgi checkpoint, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Friday.

"Do you know that it is even forbidden to point a weapon towards a neighboring territory? Why did you pour water with poisonous chemicals from water cannons 100 meters into our territory?! This is a violation of a state border. You violated a state border, at the very least. You threw flashbangs on our territory," Lukashenko said in an interview for BBC, partially published by BelTA.

The President believes that the Polish forces acted towards the migrants "like fascists."

"Listen, there are people sleeping in the open, and you turn on floodlights, sirens, these strobes and whatnot. You fly helicopters. The investigators reported now: you sprayed this tear gas, water, poisonous chemicals, and helicopters were flying low. Why? In order to disperse it even further with the helicopter’s downwash, so that it reached the children," Lukashenko explained.

According to the president, the vast majority "of the 2,100 people were peacefully asking the Polish to let [them] into Germany."

"A Polish officer approached and started explaining that it necessary to do like this: to file an application at the checkpoint, we will review it and so on. That said, he effectively pointed them to this checkpoint. So all of them stood up and went there," Lukashenko explained.

Then, he continued, the migrants "fell on their knees, apologized before them and started asking to be allowed through."

"They were denied passage. And there is where this scuffle began. The Polish engaged water cannons and started dousing them in violation of all norms and rules," Lukashenko said.

"What have we discovered today? You mixed poisonous chemicals there, pesticides and herbicides. This is what you use to kill cockroaches and weeds. This is what happened. That is, take these episodes in general. And we will prove it to you, because there is documented evidence," the president concluded.

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