BRUZGI. Belarus (Reuters). Poland announced Thursday that more people tried to cross from Belarus. However, thousands of migrants remained stuck at its frontier, frozen in a standoff with East and West.

Many of the migrants from Iraq were prevented from returning to Belarus or entering Poland. However, some had been due to fly to Iraq later in Thursday’s first flight.

According to a Reuters reporter from Belarusian, around 200-300 people – mostly young men but also families with children – huddled together near Kuznica-Bruzgi’s border point.

Some others had put up tents, and one man was seen giving a bottle to a child. Their presence was reinforced by Belarusian soldiers, who were wearing helmets, masks and vests. On the Polish side, a water cannon was visible.

European countries claim Minsk flew in thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East. They also pushed them to cross illegally as punishment for Europe’s sanctions against Belarus over its crackdown on protestors supporting democracy.

Belarus rejects the claim that it caused the crisis, and says it is not responsible for it. However, the European Union should lift its sanctions to help resolve the problem.

The Polish Border Guard posted on Thursday that there were 501 attempts at crossing the border. One group consisted of approximately 500 people. This was an increase over previous days.

The Polish Defence Ministry claimed that one of these attempts was inspired and carried out by Belarusian troops. This group, which included around 100 individuals, was stopped by Polish forces close to Dubicze Cerkiewne. This accusation has been previously refuted by Belarus.

Many Iraqis have gathered at the borders of Belarus with EU countries for several weeks, hoping to gain entry into the prosper 27-nation bloc. The Iraqi foreign minister said that 430 Iraqis had checked into the Minsk airport for Thursday’s flight to Iraq.