Refugee group: 32 Afghans trapped between Poland and Belarus

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish refugee rights group says 32 people who fled Afghanistan have been trapped for 12 days in an area between Poland and Belarus. The group called on Polish authorities Friday to allow them to apply for refugee status. Polish authorities are refusing to let them in, and Belarusian border guards will not let them return. Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending migrants across their borders with his country in retaliation for EU sanctions. The countries’ borders also form part of the European Union’s external border. Most of the recent migrants traveling from Belarus are believed to be originally from Iraq and Afghanistan.