WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda called it shocking and the minister of defense demanded explanations Thursday after it emerged that three soldiers were handcuffed and detained by Polish military police in March for having fired warning shots when faced with an advancing group of migrants on the border with Belarus.
The situation at the European Union’s eastern border is increasingly tense under pressure from thousands of people from the Middle East, Asia and Africa trying to force the metal barrier that Poland put up in 2022 to seal the frontier, which is patrolled by Polish army troops and border guards. Recently, some officers required hospital treatment for knife and other wounds inflicted from behind the barrier.
In March, military police detained three soldiers after they allegedly fired warning shots into the air and then into the ground as they tried to stop an advancing migrant group on Polish territory. No one was injured. Polish media report growing discontent among the military over the way their colleagues were treated.
Government officials say the detention was an excessive measure given the circumstances.
“This is a shocking case, considering the fact that our soldiers were recently repeatedly attacked by aggressors from the Belarus side,” Duda said.
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the military police overreacted and demanded clarification from them and from the prosecutors who are investigating. One of the soldiers detained has been cleared of the allegations.
“The soldiers at the border are carrying out a mission for the Polish state,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told a news conference Thursday.
“We are always on the side of the soldiers … of those who carry out their tasks at the border,” he said, adding that soldiers, in charge of protecting the border since 2022, have used weapons in emergency situations some 700 times.
Poland and the EU say migrant groups are organized and aided by Russia and its ally Belarus to destabilize Europe. Their pressure intensified this spring, ahead of key elections to the European Parliament.
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