The number of migrants attempting to cross the border from Belarus into Poland has declined by nearly two-thirds since Polish authorities built a wall along the frontier.
Poland's border control agency said on July 11 that it had recorded 1,766 attempts to cross the border in March. In June, the number fell to 596, according to a spokesperson quoted by the PAP news agency.
Poland in late June said it had completed a steel wall stretching along the border with Belarus to stop the flow of illegal migrants after tens of thousands, mostly from Middle East, tried to enter the EU-member state from Belarusian territory last year.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on June 30 that the construction of the 5.5 meter-high, 186 kilometer-long steel wall will "separate us from the bleak dictatorship of [Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr] Lukashenka," who the West blames for funneling the influx of migrants.
The border separating the two countries is actually 418 kilometers long, but much of it is covered by water.
Poland and other EU states say Lukashenka orchestrated the migrant crisis along with his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in retaliation for sanctions imposed on him and his regime for its brutal crackdown on dissent after mass protests over a disputed August 2020 presidential election handed Lukashenka a sixth term in power.
Belarus has denied charges that it manufactured the border crisis.