British Troops Deployed To Advise Poles on Border Fencing

Nov. 13, 2021 (EIRNS)—A squad of ten British soldiers arrived in Poland on Thursday (Nov. 11) supposedly on a mission to survey the security situation on Poland’s border with Belarus and offer ways to tighten it up. The troops are expected to spend a few days in the country at the request of the Polish government to work out if they can repair or toughen the fencing, reported the Guardian. The U.K. Ministry of Defense said the mission was focused only on “engineering support to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border,” and insiders told the Guardian that there was no additional plan for British troops to police the border. Whitehall sources added it was appropriate to consider helping given that “it is Belarus that is pushing migrants towards the border.”

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the aim was “to cooperate in strengthening the [border] fence.” The MOD said: “The U.K. and Poland have a long history of friendship and are NATO allies. A small team of U.K. armed forces personnel have deployed following an agreement with the Polish government to explore how we can provide engineering support to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border.”

Amnesty International criticized the move, arguing that the U.K. should concentrate on alleviating the humanitarian crisis. Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International U.K.’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “Sending British soldiers to erect more border fences rather than address the needs of people dying at those borders shows a shocking disregard for both human life and the right of people to seek asylum.”