Poland warns potential migrants Belarus border is closed

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The government of Poland is working abroad to warn potential migrants that the country’s border with Belarus is sealed and not a passage into the European Union. A deputy foreign minister said Tuesday that Poland’s diplomats in Middle Eastern and African countries are talking to local media and posting messages on social networks to stop people from trying to illegally enter the EU through Belarus. A number of migrants, mostly from Iraq, have recently died from exhaustion as they tried to get to Poland across an area of woods and swamps. The Polish deputy minister says diplomats are also speaking with government officials in certain countries of origin to urge them to warn their citizens.