Troops guarding the Polish border have allegedly been attacked by “aggressive” migrants, before one of the soldiers reportedly opened fire. Nine migrants are believed to have been involved in the incident, and one is said to have elbowed a guard in the eye, which led to them being taken to hospital with minor injuries. The Afghan citizen was shot with rubber bullets, with the soldier also hitting him with the butt of his rifle, according to reports.
Poland’s defence ministry said “no investigation is being conducted against the soldier”, to its knowledge. But the migrant who purportedly attacked the trooper is being investigated for assaulting a public official, it is thought. “Soldiers guarding the eastern border do everything, risking their lives and health every day, to protect Poland from illegal migrants,” Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said on X. “This was also the case on July 10 near Michałowo.
“Under a hail of stones and aggression, the border defenders did everything to stop the invaders”, ” an armed forces spokesperson, Major Błażej Łukaszewski, told Polish news outlet Onet.
“They did so effectively.”
“To subdue the extremely aggressive migrant, the soldier used direct force.”
“During the intervention, the migrant elbowed the soldier in the eye, causing injuries that required the soldier to be transported to the hospital for medical attention.”
The Afghan was hospitalised in Białystok, a city in northeastern Poland.
They were since discharged, and are being held at a migrant centre, TVP World reports.
It comes as Poland seperately reintroduced temporary controls on its borders with Germany and Lithuania amid public concern over migration.
These will last until August 5.
Campaigners have suggested that Germany is sending migrants to Poland, even though they did not originally enter Germany via Poland, which would be against EU rules.
But the German authorities have denied this.
“Poland will only allow those who have the right to stay and are approved by the government to enter the country. The era of complete openness has ended, not by our fault,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said.
Hundreds of extra police officers and soldiers are posted at 52 border crossings with Germany and 13 with Lithuania, The Guardian reports.
The Polish Border Guard said there were nearly 390 attempts to cross the Polish-Belarusian border between Friday and Sunday.
It has also been detailed that 26 people have been apprehended, and seven people have been detained for “aiding migrant crossings”.
