Poland sends troops to Belarus border as migrant numbers surge

Polish border patrol officers guard a group of migrants who attempted to cross the border between Belarus and Poland near the village of Usnarz Gorny, Poland August 18, 2021. Grzegorz Dabrowski/Agencja Gazeta/via REUTERS

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland has sent more than 900 troops to help secure its border with Belarus, its defence minister said on Wednesday, after a surge in illegal border crossings.

Poland and Lithuania, which are members of the European Union, have reported a sharp increase in the number of migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq trying to enter their countries from Belarus this year.