By Ewan Quayle
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Poland has urged NATO to come up with "concrete steps" amid a deteriorating situation on the border with Belarus, where troops have begun constructing a concrete wall to prevent illegal crossings from migrants.
On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris refused to be drawn on comparisons to the U.S.-Mexico border situation but said the Biden Administration is "very concerned" about the crisis unfolding in Europe.
Meanwhile, Russia has denied stoking the crisis at the border and instead blamed Western actors.
Live updates have now ended
Nov 15, 2021 at 09:56 AM EST
Live updates have now ended
Nov 15, 2021 at 09:55 AM EST
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Nov 15, 2021 at 08:25 AM EST
Belarusian government denies state airlines used to transport migrants
Reacting to news of EU sanctions against Belarusian airlines, a government spokesperson said it was "easy to verify" that national airline Belavia is not taking people from the Middle East and Africa to the EU border.
We've repeatedly stated absolutely clearly at various levels: the national air carrier OAO Belavia has never transported, does not transport, and will not transport refugees or illegal migrants. It is easy to verify. Our air carrier is completely transparent in this matter and is ready to provide all the factual information upon request at any moment. Come and see, check things. Guarantees will be provided if necessary.
Nov 15, 2021 at 07:39 AM EST
Polish riot police block migrants at checkpoint
Heavily kitted out police have rushed to the border checkpoint to stop hundreds of migrants and refugees from crossing into Poland.
Nov 15, 2021 at 07:12 AM EST
Amnesty International criticizes Poland for ‘illegal pushbacks’
The human rights charity has told Newsweek that the Polish government "must immediately stop violently pushing people back to Belarus" as migrants try to push through border checkpoints.
Pushbacks are illegal under international human rights law. Cases of potential asylum seekers need to be considered individually and people need to be allowed to submit a claim for asylum. All countries in the European Union are obliged to uphold the right to asylum, in full respect of the Refugee Convention.
Amnesty also suggested Belarus is "facilitating the transit of people escaping human rights violations to a destination where their rights are violated again on the EU border".
Nov 15, 2021 at 07:00 AM EST
EU vows sanctions against Belarus
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has just told a press conference that the bloc will impose further sanctions on the country to tackle the "perfidious" treatment of migrants and refugees.
She said the measures would focus on airlines thought to be exacerbating the crisis.
Nov 15, 2021 at 06:50 AM EST
Poland accuses Belarus of ‘spreading misinformation’ about an evacuation
It is being reported that the mass gathering of migrants and refugees at the border checkpoint is due to false rumors, spread by Belarusian officials, that the EU and Germany will evacuate them today.
Nov 15, 2021 at 06:41 AM EST
Hundreds of migrants ‘probably preparing to cross the border by force’
A large group has gathered at the Poland-Belarus border crossing near the Polish town of Kuźnica. The group is on the Belarusian side of the border, near the city of Grodno.
The Polish government is warning that they could be preparing to"cross the border by force".
Illegal migrants gather at the border crossing in Kuźnica on the Belarusian side. With the support of local services, they are probably preparing to cross the border by force.
Nov 15, 2021 at 05:56 AM EST
IN PICTURES: Migrants and refugees in freezing conditions at border
Migrants and refugees, most of them young men from war-torn parts of Iraq and Syria, are struggling in harsh conditions at campsites across the main checkpoints along the Poland-Belarus border.
Pictures taken last night show groups huddled around campfires as temperatures reached near freezing close to the Belarusian city of Grodno.
While the EU is showing its reluctance to allow them entry to the bloc, it is has urged both countries to ensure humanitarian aid organizations can gain access to provide urgent food supplies and medical assistance.
Nov 15, 2021 at 05:28 AM EST
‘People should not be used as weapons’: EU alarmed at humanitarian crisis
The bloc's top foreign affairs official, Josep Borrell, has raised the alarm over the "precarious humanitarian situations" at the Poland-Belarus border.
Images and videos have shown migrants and refugees starving and living in severely unhygienic conditions in camps along the border.
Nov 15, 2021 at 05:10 AM EST
Good morning and welcome to Newsweek’s liveblog
Construction is underway to build a wall to keep out migrants and refugees from Poland as the border crisis with Belarus escalates.
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