The Poland-Belarus border crisis has intensified over the past month, following the death of a Polish border guard at the hands of a spear-throwing migrant. The death of 21-year-old border guard Sgt Mateusz Sitek on June 6th garnered national and international attention, after days prior to his succumbing to his wounds a sharp spear was hurled from the fence where he was on patrol. 

The Telegraph has described that the mostly Middle East/North African (MENA) migrants on the Belarusian side are growing violent and more aggressive. “Dozens of illegal migrants on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland hurled a volley of makeshift spears at Polish border guards through the five-metre-high steel fence,” the report said.

“Some fell short of their targets and as the security forces picked them up they saw what appeared to be a tree branch with a steel blade taped to the top.” In the attack, “Several were injured in the bombardment and one – Sgt Mateusz Sitek, a 21-year-old from the village of Nowy Lubiel – lost his life.” The stabbing happened on May 28, leaving the guard critically injured. Video of the immediate aftermath showed migrants trying to kill another soldier who was attempting to administer aid to Mateusz…

The Telegraph concluded, “They may be incredibly crude, but the weapons show a new level of organization and intent from the waves of migrants arriving at the gates of the EU through Belarus.”

Warsaw has long accused the government of Aleksandr Lukashenko of facilitating the border crisis by flying Middle East migrants into Minsk, and transporting them to the Polish border. The EU has also condemned the alleged ‘hybrid warfare’.

Spokesman for Poland’s border patrol, Colonel Katarzyna Zdanowicz, has said, “We took an oath to defend our country with the sacrifice of our lives. But no one expected it to be like this. After the death of this young soldier, we understood how realistic our oath was.”

Hundreds have continued to try and force their way across the border, authorities have described, in a situation which noticeably intensified starting in April this year (amid at least two years of border tensions). Some pundits are openly blaming Putin and say that it is all connected with the Ukraine war.

There has been growing pressure on the Polish government to loosen up rules of engagement and the ability of troops to defend themselves on the border. Regional media is saying parliament has approved firing upon attacking migrants in self defense.

BREAKING:

Poland’s Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favor of a new law that allows soldiers, border guards and police officers to fire live ammunition when stopping attempts by migrants to storm the border.

401 MPs voted for the new law, 17 against

🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/sUCZ8VMKvQ

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 13, 2024

The bill amends existing laws to remove liability for “a crime committed by a soldier, police or border guard officer who, in violation of the rules on the use of direct coercive measures and firearms, issues an order to use them or uses them himself in specific cases – if the situation requires immediate action.”

The new rules of engagement apply to four specific situations, summarized in the following:

The first is in cases requiring an officer to “repel a direct and unlawful attack on the inviolability of the state border by a person who forces a crossing of the state border using a vehicle, firearm or other dangerous object”.

The second is in cases of self-defence: “to repel a direct and unlawful attack on the life, health or freedom of a soldier, police or border guard officer or other person, undertaken in the event of a direct and unlawful attack on the inviolability of the state border.”

The third relates to cases of pre-emptive self-defence in which there is a need to “prevent activities aimed directly at attacking the life, health or freedom of a soldier, police or border guard officer or other person, in the event of a direct and unlawful attack on the inviolability of the state border”.

The fourth would cover situations in which “it is necessary to confront a person who does not comply with a request to immediately abandon a weapon, explosive or other dangerous item, the use of which may threaten the life, health or freedom of that soldier”.

Polish troops unload pepper spray at illegals trying to break in through the border fence. pic.twitter.com/qXW2GeHvIz

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) June 7, 2024

All of this is in direct response to the border guard’s death in June, and the fact that migrants using deadly weapons is a phenomena clearly documented and on the rise.

Below: Spears have been hurled at Polish troops, police, and border guards…

Likely European Union leadership will push back against the new policies, as it is also expected to do with Finland, which has also given border troops more enforcement power.