WARSAW, (Reuters) – A small group of 50 migrants broke through the Belarusian border defenses and crossed into Poland, near Starzyna. This was as tensions mount at the frontier.

Thousands of migrants have travelled to Belarus in the hope of crossing into the European Union, only to find themselves trapped on the border https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-police-find-body-syrian-man-near-belarus-border-2021-11-13 in freezing conditions.

Belarus repeatedly denies the European Union’s accusation that Minsk caused the crisis. It was doing so to pressure the bloc on sanctions. Some countries https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-nato-drills-black-sea-are-serious-challenge-moscow-2021-11-13 in the region have warned the standoff could escalate into a military conflict.

“Yesterday at 5 pm around 50 individuals broke into Poland in the vicinity of Starzyna,” Podlaska Police stated via Twitter (NYSE:). They also added that 22 Iraqi citizens had been arrested.

Police also claimed that they were assaulted on Saturday night during another attempt to push through the border. One officer had his helmet damaged by a stone thrown at them.

The Polish Border Guard reported that there had been 223 illegal attempts to cross the border this Saturday.