Poland has extended the exclusion zone along its border with Belarus by an additional 90 days, the country’s Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced on Thursday.
Speaking in Kielce, Siemoniak revealed the extension would be formalized by a new regulation entering into force in the coming days.
A buffer zone stretching 56 kilometers along the Belarusian border in Hajnówka County was introduced on June 13 to help combat illegal immigration.
Initially in force for 90 days, the exclusion zone prohibited entry and travel across a 200-meter-wide strip along the border. In high-risk areas, the exclusion zone increased to a width of 2 kilometers.
“The zone brought concrete, good results. It is primarily aimed at people smugglers who take people across the border,” Siemoniak said.
“At the Ministry of Interior and Administration, we are finalizing work on a new regulation on this matter, which will apply from Sept. 11,” he added.
In wider comments about the ongoing security situation at the border, Siemoniak said the Polish government had taken significant steps in shoring up defenses including the deployment of riot police and other units, “as well as training for the border guard and the army.”
He added that the electronic barrier at the border would be reinforced, ensuring that “the new solutions will make it impossible to cross the border so easily.”
The interior minister assured that the left-liberal coalition government was as dedicated as its conservative predecessor to border security, adding, “These are not cheap things, but in order to seal the border, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk also talked about this, it is an absolute priority for the government.”
