EU Border Guard Killed by Spear-Throwing Migrants; Poland Migrant Clashes Intensify as Warsaw Passes Shoot to Kill Law After Soldier Death

EU border guard killed by spear-throwing migrants:

Polish officials believe surge in arrivals through Belarus is the latest tactic in Russia’s hybrid war with the West

The attack came shortly before dawn.

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.

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.

Several were injured in the bombardment and one – Sgt Mateusz Sitek, a 21-year-old from the village of Nowy Lubiel – lost his life.

They may be incredibly crude, but the weapons show a new level of organisation and intent from the waves of migrants arriving at the gates of the EU through Belarus.

They are moving with the quiet helping hand of Russia, Polish officials believe, the latest axis in Vladimir Putin’s asymmetric hybrid war with the West.

Russia has long waged hybrid warfare on Europe’s doorstep with a combination of cyber attacks and disinformation.

It began weaponising migration three years ago, working with travel agents in the Middle East to encourage migrants to visit with the promise of a gateway to the EU.

As The Telegraph reported earlier this year, these migrants are increasingly controlled by private Wagner-like Russian militias.

The death of Sgt Sitek is emblematic of how things have dramatically escalated.

“He was a very, very good boy,” one person told The Telegraph at his funeral in a small church where friends, family and the Polish president gathered to pay their respects.

The sounds of prayers mingled with footsteps as soldiers walked across St Mary’s wooden floor.

Amid the kind words and reflections, though, one message cut through: this was a needless death.

“You know, I can’t stop thinking, would all this have happened if two years ago these people hadn’t started all this hate campaign against our soldiers on the border?” one mourner at Sitek’s funeral said. ––>READ MORE HERE

Poland migrant clashes intensify as Warsaw passes shoot to kill law after soldier death

Polish MPs have voted overwhelmingly to pass a new law allowing soldiers and border guards to fire live rounds at migrants trying to break into the country from Belarus.

The passing of the legislation comes in the wake of the tragic death of a Polish border guard last week, who was killed by a spear thrown by a migrant from inside Belarusian territory.

Politicians in the Polish Sejm voted 401 in favour of the law, while 17 voted against.

The new legislation exempts public officials carrying weapons from liability where they use them in self-defence or “pre-emptively” when the “life, health and freedom” of law enforcement officials are threatened during an “unlawful attack on the inviolability of the state border”.

Polish soldiers and border guards clashed again all day on Saturday with large groups of illegal migrants.

Video images show the Polish troops forming a defensive line behind riot shields, as groups of migrants stand around about twenty metres away.

One of them appears to throw a projectile towards the border guards, who retaliate by throwing a stun grenade.

The Polish soldiers hurl abuse at the migrants, shouting “f*** you, motherf***ers” in English.

Amnesty International has criticised the new legislation, saying it sets a dangerous precedent. —>READ MORE HERE

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