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The Polish government has been criticised over the plight of migrants trapped between the Polish and Belarusian borders, with guards pushing them back and forwards between the two. Migrants are being denied entry to the EU from Belarus and have been left trapped and stranded between the two countries. There are reports that four have died, with others being denied medical help and being forced to live in the open in increasingly harsh conditions.

Jakub Sypianski is volunteering as an interperator for lawyers, journalists and campaigners trying to help the migrants involved, who he says are mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. He says they do not have access to food or water, and the border guards are forbidding them access to medical assistance or hospitals. He says that existing tensions between Poland and Belarus are making things worse, and that the Polish government is stoking public reaction to the situation, rather than assisting with processing the migrants' asylum applications.

Photo: Refugees in the border area between Poland and Belarus Credit: EPA