Sharjah 24 – AFP: Hundreds of desperate migrants were trapped in freezing weather on the border between Belarus and EU and NATO member Poland on Tuesday, with Warsaw accusing Russia and the government in Minsk of using them to threaten European security.
Western critics have for months said Belarus's strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko is luring migrants from the Middle East to his country to send them across the border in retaliation for EU sanctions.
Belarus denies the claim and accuses Poland of violating human rights by refusing to allow the migrants in.
The tense situation has raised fears of a confrontation on the border, where armed troops from both countries are deployed.
A defiant Lukashenko said he did not want an armed confrontation but also would not back down.
"We are not seeking a fight... I am not a madman, I understand perfectly well where it can lead," Lukashenko told the state news agency Belta.
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