TORONTO -- Images and video from the border of Poland and Belarus show a group of migrants, most from Middle Eastern nations that have been torn apart by conflict, living in camps while being watched from across razor wire by Polish security personnel who are trying to prevent their advance into the European Union.
The EU has accused the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, of using the migrants as pawns in retaliation for sanctions placed on the country by the bloc. Lukashenko has denied encouraging the migration.
On the ground are the people caught up in the political back and forth. Here are some of the most stark images from the border.
Belarusian servicemen control the situation while migrants get humanitarian aid as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP)
Migrants line up to collect drinking water as other from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. About 15,000 Polish troops have joined riot police and guards at the border. The Belarusian Defense Ministry accused Poland of an "unprecedented" military buildup there, saying that migration control didn't warrant such a force. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA pool photo via AP)
These images taken from a video released by the Podlaska Police on Nov. 12 show the situation at the Poland-Belarus border. (Podlaska Police)
Migrants walk along the barbed wire as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. About 15,000 Polish troops have joined riot police and guards at the border. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA pool photo via AP)
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere warm up at the fire gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. The European Union has accused Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging illegal border crossings as a "hybrid attack" to retaliate against EU sanctions on his government for its crackdown on internal dissent after Lukashenko's disputed 2020 re-election. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP)
Migrants walk at a tent camp set by migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, late Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP)
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere warm up at the fire gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, late Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP)
Migrants carry firewood as other migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP)
Belarusian soldiers, left, stand guard as migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP)
Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP)
Polish border guards stand near the barbed wire as migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP)
