Piotr Wawrzyk

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To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Media caption, Watch: Video shows hundreds of migrants near Belarus' border with Poland

Poland has stepped up security on its eastern border over concerns about a large group of migrants trying to enter the country from Belarus.

Video showed hundreds of people near a barbed-wire border fence, which some have tried to force their way through.

The Polish government had called a crisis meeting and put 12,000 troops on duty at The Border .

Poland has accused Belarus of pushing The Migrants towards The Border , describing it as hostile activity.

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia say there's been a surge in The Number of people trying to enter their countries illegally from Belarus in recent months. Many of them have come from the Middle East and Asia.

The European Union has accused Belarus's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating the influx in retaliation against sanctions.

Poland, which has been criticised for pushing back migrants and refugees at The Border , has responded to the large number of people by building a razor-wire fence.

Conditions for migrants on The Border are hostile to The Point of being deadly, and fears have been raised for their safety in the region's sub-zero winter.

As they are summarily expelled from Poland and Belarus refuses to allow them back in, people are finding themselves stranded and freezing in Poland's forests. Several have died of hyperthermia.

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To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Media caption, The Migrants freezing to death on the Belarus-Poland border

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On Monday, the Nato alliance said it was worried about " escalation" on The Border with Poland and was ready to " maintain safety and security in the region".

Meanwhile in Lithuania, the government there moved troops to its border with Belarus to prepare for a possible influx of migrants and was considering declaring a state of emergency.

A significant escalation

Analysis by Paul Adams , diplomatic correspondent

This is a significant escalation in a crisis that's been rumbling since The Middle of the year.

For months, Belarus' EU neighbours have been accusing the Lukashenko regime of " weaponising" migration, in revenge for successive waves of EU sanctions on Minsk.

Migrants have told us numerous stories of The Role played by Belarussian soldiers in helping them to make illegal crossings into Poland and Lithuania. Some cross in small groups, while others have spoken of being transported to The Border in military trucks and shown where to go.

But the latest pictures from the Polish border are unprecedented, recalling scenes from the Greek-Macedonian border at The Height of the 2015-16 migrant crisis.

The Sheer concentration of numbers at a single Crossing Point , along with The Presence of Belarussian soldiers, apparently doing nothing to stem the flow of migrants to The Border , suggest that Once Again , this is being orchestrated.

It's a charge Belarus denies.

Border tensions intensified earlier when videos posted on Social Media showed a column of people, including women and children, Walking Towards the Polish border in Belarus.

Other videos showed large numbers of migrants being escorted by armed men dressed in khaki.

— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej ?? (@MON_GOV_PL) The Bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Poland's deputy Foreign Minister , Piotr Wawrzyk , accused Belarus of trying to orchestrate a major incident near Kuznica Bialostocka, a village close to The Border .

He told Polish radio that " there will be an attempt at a mass border crossing".

Later, Poland's Defence Minister , Mariusz Blaszczak, said the country had raised its state of alert on its border with Belarus.

He tweeted aerial footage that showed many migrants had arrived at The Border , where they were prevented from going any further by a recently erected razor wire fence.

But the Polish Border Guard later said some of The Migrants had attempted to force their way through Barbed Wire .

⚡️Migrants have destroyed the Barbed Wire fence and are shouting " Germany". border guards cover The Hole with a human shield.

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) The Bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites.

One dramatic video showed guards with shields lined up in a row where The Fence had been breached, standing their ground as a helicopter hovered above.

The Belarusian Border Guard agency told state media that More Than 2,000 " refugees" had amassed in front of Polish barriers. They were heading for the EU " where they want to apply for protection" The Agency said.

The Agency accused Poland of using " unjustified" means to repel " people seeking protection".

Source of news: bbc.com