Is Belarus using migrants to get back at the EU?

Is Belarus using migrants to get back at the EU?

As winter approaches, thousands of refugees are stranded at the Belarus-Poland border. From young children to the elderly, all wrapped up as best they can be to cope with the deteriorating conditions as they wait for sanctuary in the European Union before the weather worsens.

Some are chopping down trees in the forest to make fires for heat. At least 10 have already died in these freezing conditions. But the worst of the winter is still ahead of them.

But this is no ordinary case of refugees seeking asylum. Accusations from the EU are that Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko is using these people as pawns to put pressure on the bloc. Lukashenko denies this claim.

On this week's Beyond the Headlines, we look at how thousands of people have become caught up in the crossfire of European power politics.

Hosted by James Haines-Young

Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson

Episoder(493)

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Thursday that Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz could lead down a “slippery slope” of imposing tolls and taxes over international waters, which she d...

9 Apr 10min

Escalation or diplomacy: Where does the war go from here?

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In his address to the nation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the war with Iran was nearing its end and the US had decimated the country’s military capabilities. But parts of his speech contr...

3 Apr 24min

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It has been a month since Israel, along with the US, launched strikes on Iran, leading the Middle East into yet another conflict it tried to avoid. Iran has responded by firing waves of missiles and d...

27 Mar 23min

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About one million people have been forcibly displaced in Lebanon and almost a thousand killed in Israel’s renewed war with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group fired missiles at Israel in early March, joi...

19 Mar 21min

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