.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) do not have access to the Polish side of the border with Belarus and are currently withdrawing from the country.
- Polish authorities still deny humanitarian organizations access to people on the Polish-Belarusian border - states the aid organization.
MSF has been working on gaining access to the border area since October, but with no success. Now they are giving up.
- We know that there are still people who cross the border and hide in the forest and need help, but although we are obliged to help refugees wherever they are, we have not managed to reach them in Poland, says emergency coordinator Frauke Ossig in Doctors Without Borders.
To date, at least 21 refugees and migrants have lost their lives in harsh conditions, and the relief organization fears more will die in the bitter winter frost if they are not given food, water, warm clothing and medical assistance.
Since last summer, thousands of refugees and migrants have tried to enter the EU via Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Polish authorities responded by setting up a border fence, sending troops and declaring a state of emergency. Aid organizations and the media are denied access to the border.
Polish border guards forcibly returned refugees and migrants to Belarus on many occasions. This prompted many to hide in the woods along the border.
Source: NTB
(AP Photo / Pavel Golovkin)
Read our next article: Removal of privileges for refugees
