World

GENEVA — The Covax scheme aimed at equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines has now delivered more than 500 million doses around the world, figures showed on Wednesday.

Covax was established to ensure poorer countries get COVID jabs but the facility has been hit by setbacks as wealthy nations hog doses straight off the production lines.

Covax, co-led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, had said at the beginning of the year it hoped to deliver two billion doses in 2021.

"Thanks to incredible hard work and dedication from partners and health workers, Covax has delivered 500 million COVID-19 vaccines to 144 countries and territories," Gavi Chief Executive Seth Berkley said on Twitter.

The 92 poorest participating territories can access jabs for free via Covax, with donors covering the costs.

“Covax has faced challenges in 2021 in the form of export bans, supply shortages and vaccine nationalism. Arrivals in countries are now rapidly ramping up as we strive to ensure countries have as many doses as they are able to administer,” said Berkley.

“When donors and manufacturers give us visibility on when doses arrive, countries can plan large-scale national roll outs. This is the only way we will bridge our dangerous global vaccine divide.”

More than 7.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered around the world, according to an AFP count.

Some 143 doses per 100 people have been injected in high-income countries, compared to fewer than seven per 100 people in low-income nations.

Gavi said Tuesday that five of the world’s poorest countries, Chad, the DRC, Congo, Haiti, South Sudan and Yemen, did not even have enough doses to reach two percent of their populations.

The Covax collective development and procurement scheme was set up to counter the likelihood that much of the world would be shut out from access to any eventual vaccines.

According to its forecasts, it should truly come into force throughout 2022.

Meanwhile the WHO said that more than 3.3 million new coronavirus cases were reported last week, up six percent on the previous week.

Just under 50,000 new deaths were registered, with all regions reporting stable or declining trends, apart from Europe which recorded a 5 per cent increase.

SOKOLKA, Poland — Polish forces fired tear gas and deployed water cannons against stone-throwing migrants trying to cross the Belarusian border on Tuesday, sparking accusations from Belarus that Poland was trying to escalate the crisis.

Polish border guards estimate up to 4,000 migrants are currently camped out along the border between Poland and Belarus in increasingly dire conditions and freezing temperatures.

Western powers accuse Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the crisis, possibly with the backing of Russia, by luring migrants to the border to sow division in the EU — claims denied by Minsk and Moscow.

A standoff near the Bruzgi-Kuznica border crossing on the EU's eastern frontier began last week when hundreds of migrants gathered there.

"Migrants attacked our soldiers and officers with rocks and are trying to destroy the fence and cross into Poland," Poland's defence ministry said on Tuesday, tweeting a video showing apparent clashes at the border.

"Our forces used tear gas to quell the migrants' aggression."

A police officer, a border guard and a soldier were injured in the clashes, Polish officials said, with police saying stun grenades and tear gas canisters had also been thrown at officers.

Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman Anataoly Glaz accused Poland of exacerbating the problem.

"The goal of the Polish side is completely understandable — it needs to escalate the situation even more, to stifle any progress in resolving the situation," he said.

"We see today from the Polish side direct provocations and inhumane treatment of the disadvantaged," he said.

Russia also condemned Poland's use of tear gas and water cannons against the migrants, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling it "absolutely unacceptable".

'Nobody needs escalation' 

Lukashenko, who has crushed opposition to his rule over nearly three decades in power, said on Tuesday that he wanted to avoid a "heated confrontation" at the border.

“The main thing now is to protect our country and our people, and not to allow clashes,” he told a government meeting, according to state news agency Belta.

The Belarusian leader discussed the crisis with Germany’s Angela Merkel on Monday, his first phone call with a Western leader since he suppressed mass protests against his rule last year.

Merkel’s office said the pair discussed bringing humanitarian aid to the migrants, whose number includes many young children.

Lukashenko said he and Merkel agreed the standoff should be defused.

“We were of the united opinion that nobody needs escalation — not the EU, or Belarus,” he said.

But he said he had “differing” views with Merkel on how the migrants got to Belarus, with the West saying Minsk had brought them there as revenge for sanctions.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed that existing sanctions targeting Lukashenko’s regime will be expanded to include individuals or companies found to have encouraged border crossings.

The US has also vowed to expand its sanctions on Belarus.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, welcomed the sanctions saying Lukashenko had “crossed all the red lines already”.

Repatriation flight 

Iraq has said it will start voluntary repatriations of its citizens from Belarus this week.

The Iraqi embassy in Moscow said it would fly out around 200 people in a flight on Thursday.

But many migrants, including those AFP has spoken to — have vowed not to go back.

The EU meanwhile has been asking for the flights to Belarus to stop.

Turkish Airlines has now banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to Belarus via Turkey and private Syrian carrier Cham Wings Airlines has said it will halt flights to Minsk.

Belarus’s state-run airline Belavia has also said that Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis and Afghans are banned from incoming flights from the United Arab Emirates at Dubai’s request.

At least 11 migrants have died on both sides since the influx started in the summer, according to aid groups.

One of them, a 19-year-old Syrian man from the war-torn city of Homs, was laid to rest on Monday in a cemetery near the border belonging to Poland’s tiny ethnic Muslim community.

YEREVAN — Armenia on Tuesday reported deaths and the loss of military positions in border clashes with Azerbaijani troops, a year after the arch-foes fought a war over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region.

The six-week conflict, which left more than 6,500 dead, ended last November in a Russian-brokered deal that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Armenia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that “there are fatalities and wounded among Armenian troops as a result of fighting that erupted following an attack by Azerbaijani forces”.

It said the number of casualties was being verified and that Armenia had “lost control of two military positions”.

The ministry reported later in the evening that 12 Armenian servicemen were captured by the Azerbaijani military.

Earlier on Tuesday, the two sides accused each other of initiating fighting along their shared border.

“Armenian troops attacked Azerbaijani positions in the districts of Kelbajar and Lachin,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said in a statement, adding that two Azerbaijani troops were wounded.

The ministry said Azerbaijani troops “stopped the enemy’s advance, surrounded and detained Armenian servicemen”.

The country’s foreign ministry said Armenia “is deliberately mounting tensions and is not interested in ensuring peace and security in the region”.

Armenia’s defence ministry said Azerbaijani forces tried to “break through” the border before being repelled.

Appeals to Moscow 

The European Union called on both sides to cease hostilities.

“Call for urgent de-escalation and full ceasefire,” European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter.

“Challenging situation in region — EU is committed to work with partners to overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus,” he added.

Armenia appealed to ally Russia for military support under the Collective Security Treaty Organisation pact, which obliges Moscow to protect it in the event of a foreign invasion.

“Given that there was an attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory, we appeal to the Russian Federation to protect Armenia’s territorial integrity,” said Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan.

Since last year’s war, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported occasional exchanges of fire, sparking fears of another flare-up in their territorial dispute.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan said the situation along their border remained tense with clashes ongoing on Tuesday evening.

On Sunday, they traded accusations of opening fire at their border near Karabakh.

The day before, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said the only road connecting Armenia to the separatist territory — the Lachin Corridor — was briefly closed due to an incident between the two sides.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.

By Herve BAR
Agence France-Presse

MARQUETALIA, Colombia — It all began in a mountainside hovel perched in the Colombian Andes, where peasant soldiers, besieged by government forces, founded the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 1964.

After 50 years of bloody struggle, and another five since the 2016 peace accords that ended FARC’s battle against the state, this isolated south-central region has rediscovered peace.

FARC, and its war, seem a distant memory in Tolima province, 200 kilometres southwest of Bogota as, where all that remains of the conflict is a few leftover anti-personnel mines and the occasional discreet army patrol.

Although the peace deal is holding, the number of armed groups operating in Colombia is on the rise, yet Tolima is an exception: Here peace reigns.

Tolima and the Marquetalia Valley, remain synonymous, for Colombians at least, with the war, murder and the Marxist FARC guerrillas.

“There were so many awful stories here... it was blood, every day dead bodies, with civilians caught in a vice between guerrillas and soldiers,” said Leonoricel Villamil, a local politician for the small towns of Planadas and Gaitana.

“FARC were at home here, they came down from the mountain, went where they wanted. The soldiers built walls, besieged in their barracks.”

Kidnappings were frequent.

‘A strategic place’ 

In 1964, the army launched an offensive to take control of several peasant shelters set up following the 1948-53 civil war that had come under communist influence.

On May 27, battle waged in the Ata River canyon in Marquetalia valley, and FARC was born.

Marquetalia would remain its fiefdom.

“Right in the centre of the country, it was a strategic place for us, a corridor between the three mountain ranges that connects the north to the south, close to Bogota,” Pastor Alape, a former FARC leader, told AFP.

Even today, it remains an isolated region that is difficult to access.

To reach the heart of Marquetalia involves a treacherous journey along a dirt track either by motorcycle or powerful old Russian trucks.

Next is a two-hour ride on horseback up steep slopes, followed by a trek on foot, knee high in mud and soaked by rain.

The spectacular views makes the ordeal worthwhile: Majestic mountains covered in tropical vegetation, all in the shadow of the snow-capped Nevado del Huila volcano.

Cows graze on the hill where FARC was born. Having been briefly occupied by the army, the pastureland is now owned by a farmer.

“FARC controlled everything with severity,” said Alberto Colorado, a peasant who lost five brothers that were “forced” to join the communist rebels before being killed by the army.

“You had to adapt and obey. Everyone was afraid,” he added, sporting a machete in his belt and a parrot on his shoulder.

Beans instead of poppies 

“All this is ancient history, everything’s changed,” said Hector Almario, 27, a local community leader. “Here there is peace, we move about freely day and night.”

“No-one is coming to kill or bombard us any more, we live in a little paradise,” said a smiley Bellanith Cumaco, 44, another local leader.

The entire community meets in the village’s only school — an old rebel headquarters.

Marquetalia, is made up of 19 families, said Almario, who live off cattle, cheese and red beans.

Gone are the poppy crops — the primary ingredient in heroine — that abounded under FARC.

There are still disputes, most commonly over access to land, but they don’t descend into violence in Marquetalia.

‘Abandoned’ 

At the end of the working day, de-miners attempting to clear the last unexploded anti-personnel devices left over from the conflict, join locals to play football on the school grounds.

On the peaks nearby are stationed some discrete soldiers.

“Sometimes there are rumours” about armed groups advancing along the mountain range from the Cauca department to the southwest, looking for recruits.

“We’re afraid that the state will leave us to face all these people alone,” said Almario.

One complaint echoes around the mountains.

“Our problems are the roads, the trails, the bridges... and the absence of the state,” said Cumaco.

For Villamil, the area has “always felt abandoned by Bogota”.

Since the peace deal was signed, some new paint for the school’s walls is “the only help we’ve had from the state”, said Almario.

The residents club together to save money for community expenses.

“We do everything ourselves, including maintaining the trails and the attempt to build a road. We have many needs but we have to do everything by horseback. It costs a fortune,” said Cumaco.

Tourism potential 

FARC has lost all support in these parts where locals want to “change the constantly negative image” of their home.

What is left of FARC in Marquetalia is just the families of around 100 disarmed former guerrillas, who live lower down the valley in a “reincorporation” village.

Images of legendary FARC leader Manuel “Tirofijo” Marulanda and the red rose emblem of the Comunes political party formed by ex-guerrillas after the peace accord don the walls of houses in Marquetalia.

Ex-fighters are now “integrated” in the area where “other communities have accepted them”, said a local merchant, who requested anonymity.

Some former FARC members want to turn Marquetalia into a tourist attraction to share the history of the Marxist rebellion.

It is not a popular idea in a village that wants to break from its past but Almario acknowledges the subject should be discussed.

“If it helps bring in tourists and changes our image, then why not?”

LIVERPOOL — Britain raised its terrorism threat level on Monday after a deadly explosion outside a hospital in Liverpool in an attack involving a homemade bomb that was reportedly foiled by a quick-thinking taxi driver.

Interior Minister Priti Patel said intelligence officials had increased the threat from “substantial” to “severe” — the second-highest level meaning an attack is highly likely.

Patel said the decision was made because Sunday’s blast, which destroyed a taxi and killed a passenger outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, was the second incident in a month.

Last month, veteran British MP David Amess was stabbed to death as he met constituents in southeast England, in an attack that prosecutors said had a “terrorist connection”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Liverpool attack was a “stark reminder of the need for us all to remain utterly vigilant”.

“But what yesterday showed us all is that the British people will never be cowed by terrorism. We will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts,” he added.

Russ Jackson, in charge of counterterrorism policing in northwest England, said the motive for the Liverpool attack was unclear.

But he told reporters that the improvised explosive device, which ignited in the cab, turning it into a fireball, was “built by the passenger” who died. Jackson added that it was being treated as a “terrorist incident”.

The explosion came just minutes before a Remembrance Sunday service at nearby Liverpool Cathedral, prompting speculation the event was the intended target.

“We cannot at this time draw any connection with this but it is a line of inquiry, which we are pursuing,” said Jackson.

Three men aged 21, 26 and 29 were arrested under the Terrorism Act soon after the explosion in the nearby Kensington area of the city and were taken for questioning.

A fourth man, aged 20, was detained earlier on Monday, Jackson said, adding that “significant items” had been found at a second address in Sefton Park, near Kensington.

Remarkable escape 

The blast and fireball sent thick smoke into the air just seconds before Britain fell silent in tribute to its war dead and military veterans at 11:00 GMT.

There was immediate praise for the taxi driver, who reportedly locked the passenger — a man — inside the cab after growing suspicious about his intentions.

The passenger had wanted to go to the annual service at Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral, according to UK media quoting investigators and friends of the cabbie.

But road closures forced the taxi to detour and they ended up at the nearby hospital, where the bomb went off just after the driver had escaped, the Daily Mail reported.

Johnson, who convened a government emergencies and contingencies meeting in response to the blast, said it appeared the driver “did behave with incredible presence of mind and bravery”.

Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson said: “The taxi driver, in his heroic efforts, has managed to divert what could have been an absolutely awful disaster at the hospital.

“We knew that the taxi driver had stood out and locked the doors, we knew that early on,” she told BBC radio.

Jackson gave few details but said the taxi driver picked up the passenger from the Kensington area.

“As the taxi approached the drop-off point at the hospital, an explosion occurred from within the car. This quickly engulfed it in flames,” he added.

“Remarkably, the taxi driver escaped from the cab. He’s been treated for his injuries that he sustained and he’s now been released from hospital.”

‘True bravery’ 

Some 2,000 people attended the religious service of remembrance, one of the biggest outside London, and a military parade, according to the Liverpool Echo newspaper.

Senior Conservative politician Oliver Dowden said the driver’s actions contrasted with “the cowardice of terrorist attacks”.

“Clearly we’ll have to see exactly what happened there,” the ruling party’s co-chairman told Sky News, stressing reports of the driver’s response had to be confirmed.

“But if that is the case, that’s another example of true bravery and courage,” Dowden said.

The scene at the hospital remained cordoned off on Monday, as did the streets around the two properties under investigation, where forensics officers in white suits were seen.

Britain had downgraded its terrorism threat level from “severe” to “substantial” in February. It had been raised last November after a deadly shooting rampage in Vienna and several attacks in France. All were blamed on Islamist extremists.

WASHINGTON — A defiant Steve Bannon, former president Donald Trump’s long-time adviser, turned himself into the FBI on Monday to face charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify on the January 6 Capitol assault.

“This is all noise,” he said of his indictment, as he arrived at the FBI’s Washington field office.

“I want you guys to stay focused on the message,” he said, promoting his “War Room” website. “We’re taking down the Biden regime.”

On Friday a federal grand jury indicted Bannon, 67, for refusing to testify or supply documents to the House Select Committee investigating the violent attack on the US Congress by Trump supporters.

Investigators believe Bannon and other aides and advisers to Trump could have information on links between the White House and the mob that invaded the Capitol, on the day it was due to certify Joe Biden as winner of the November 2020 presidential election.

Bannon was charged with two counts of contempt, each one carrying a penalty of one month to one year in jail.

The indictment was a significant victory for the House Select Committee, which is battling efforts by Trump to use presidential privilege to block the committee from obtaining testimony and documents necessary for the probe.

“Steve Bannon’s indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: No one is above the law,” said committee chair Bennie Thompson and vice chair Liz Cheney in a statement.

Bannon, who advised Trump on political tactics for years, was to appear in court via video link later on Monday for an arraignment and will likely be released on bail.

Battle over executive privilege 

Bannon was among dozens of people who have been called to testify on the violent attack aimed at shutting down Congress over Trump’s baseless claims that Biden had won the election due to massive voter fraud.

The attack, during which five people died, succeeded in delaying the joint House-Senate election certification session for several hours.

The committee says it has already interviewed or obtained documents from more than 150 people, and has demanded testimony from a number of top Trump aides.

A key witness, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, could also face charges of contempt after refusing to be interviewed by the committee on Friday.

Bannon’s and Meadows’ cases could hinge on an ongoing court fight between the committee and Trump over executive privilege.

Trump is fighting the committee’s request for documents from his administration now in the National Archives.

After Biden, as serving president, waived privilege over the documents, the federal court in Washington rejected Trump’s challenge.

Trump has since appealed, and the case, which could go to the supreme court, is now focused on never-before-tested clashing privilege stances by a serving and former president.

MOSCOW — Belarus is working to repatriate migrants massed on its border with Poland, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday, apparently aiming to defuse the crisis ahead of an EU meeting over new sanctions on the ex-Soviet country.

Migrants have been trying to cross from Belarus into EU member Poland for months, but tensions soared last week as coordinated efforts to cross were rebuffed by Polish border guards.

The EU accuses Belarus of sending the migrants to the border as retribution for earlier sanctions.

Belarusian TV showed hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and including dozens of children, crowded at a shut border crossing on Monday at the Polish village of Kuznica, after having spent the night huddling around burning logs in a makeshift camp.

Lukashenko's apparent olive branch came as foreign ministers of the 27-nation bloc were meeting on Monday to adopt new penalties over the crisis.

He said Belarus did not want the border situation to escalate into a "conflict" and that it was working to send home the several thousand migrants camping on its border with Poland.

"Active work is underway in this area, to convince people — please, return home. But nobody wants to go back," Lukashenko said, as quoted by state news agency Belta.

At the EU meeting on Monday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said he had "no reason" to believe Lukashenko.

The Belarusian leader also suggested that Minsk could take up an offer by officials in Munich to ferry the migrants via its state-run airline Belavia to Germany if Poland does not provide a "humanitarian corridor".

"We will send them to Munich by our own planes, if necessary," Lukashenko said.

'Instrumentalisation of human beings' 

However, the Polish defence ministry said later on Monday that Belarusian forces were bringing groups of migrants to the Kuznica border crossing.

Belarus’s state border committee rejected the accusation, saying the migrants had “self-organised” and that Belarusian border guards were present to “ensure safety”.

Lukashenko denies accusations that he has organised the migrants on the border, saying Monday the situation was proving “expensive” for his country.

And he repeated warnings that Belarus would defend itself if new sanctions are imposed.

Belarus has faced waves of EU sanctions in response to a crackdown on the opposition after last year’s presidential elections and Lukashenko’s decision to ground a Ryanair flight earlier this year over Belarus to detain an activist.

The new penalties are expected to target around 30 Belarusian officials, the state airline and travel agencies.

The EU on Monday said it had amended its sanctions policy so it could respond to “the instrumentalisation of human beings carried out by the Belarus regime for political purposes” by targeting individuals and entities facilitating the campaign.

Lukashenko, however, has so far weathered Belarus’s growing isolation with the help of his main political and financial backer Moscow.

On Monday, the Kremlin continued to defend the Belarusian leader.

“Lukashenko is not creating the situation that is taking place at the border,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Repatriation flight 

Belarus says there are about 2,000 people in the migrant camp, including pregnant women and children, while Poland says there are between 3,000 and 4,000 migrants on the border.

Poland has refused to allow the migrants in — detaining 50 on Sunday after they entered the country — and has accused Belarus of preventing them from leaving.

Local police in Poland’s Podlasie region on Monday said four Europeans had been detained during road checks for “aiding illegal border crossings”.

Aid agencies say at least 10 migrants have died so far and have warned of a humanitarian crisis unfolding as temperatures drop below freezing.

There have been signs in recent days, though, that the crisis could relent.

Belavia has announced that nationals from a host of Middle Eastern countries were banned from incoming flights from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates at their request.

And on Monday, the Iraqi government said it was organising a repatriation flight this Thursday for its citizens stuck on the Poland-Belarus border on a “voluntary” basis.

Warsaw — The EU and Belarusian foreign policy chiefs spoke directly about the migrant crisis for the first time on Sunday, even as Brussels prepares to impose sweeping new sanctions for human trafficking that Minsk said would be futile and "counter-productive".

Josep Borrell said he had spoken to Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei by phone about "the precarious humanitarian situation" at the Belarus-Poland border — the EU's eastern frontier.

"The current situation is unacceptable and must stop. People should not be used as weapons," Borrell said in a tweet.

In Belarus's statement about the conversation, Makei said any sanctions would be "hopeless" and "counter-productive".

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are camped out on the EU-Belarus border, creating a stand-off between the EU and US on one side and Belarus and its ally Russia on the other.

Western countries accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime of engineering the crisis by encouraging migrants to come to Belarus and then taking them to the border since the summer.

Belarus denies the charges and blames the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also rejected accusations of being involved in the crisis and has urged the EU to speak directly to Belarus.

Poland earlier on Sunday said dozens of migrants were detained after crossing from Belarus and warned of a possible larger breakthrough.

Local police said on Twitter that 50 migrants had crossed the heavily guarded border near the village of Starzyna "by force" on Saturday.

Aid agencies say at least 10 migrants have died on the border so far and have warned of a humanitarian crisis unfolding as temperatures drop below freezing, urging a de-escalation.

But Medycy na Granicy (Doctors on the Border), a Polish charity, said it was suspending its activities on Sunday after five cars used by its team were smashed up by unknown assailants.

The charity's work has been hampered before.

Last week, someone let out the air from their ambulance's tyres while they were helping migrants.

On the Belarusian side, officials said there are 2,000 migrants including pregnant women and children in the biggest camp near the village of Bruzgi.

Belarusian authorities have delivered aid including tents and heaters — a move that could make the camp a semi-permanent presence on the EU border.

Poland has refused to allow the migrants in and has accused Belarus of preventing them from leaving.

Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski on Saturday said a rumour was being spread among the migrants that on Monday Poland would allow them through and coaches would come from Germany to pick them up.

The government has sent a text message to all foreign mobile phones along the border saying this was "a total lie and nonsense".

"Those who spread such rumours seek to encourage the migrants to storm the border," the message reads.

'Lukashenko 

got it wrong' 

EU foreign ministers are also due to meet on Monday to widen the sanctions already imposed on Belarus for its crackdown on opponents of Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for nearly 30 years.

Borrell said ministers would approve sanctions on anyone taking part in migrant trafficking, including airlines, travel agencies and officials.

"Lukashenko got it wrong. He thought that by acting in this way he would twist our arm and force us to cancel the sanctions. The opposite is happening," he told the Journal du Dimanche, a French weekly.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said one of the measures being envisaged was the "complete closure of the border to cut off the regime from any economic benefits".

Speaking to Poland's PAP news agency, Morawiecki also said that the whole of the EU "should contribute jointly" to a Polish project to build a wall along the border.

One of the routes taken by the migrants has been through flights from Turkey and Syria.

Following pressure from EU diplomats, Turkey has now banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to Belarus.

Private Syrian carrier Cham Wings Airlines has also said it is halting flights to Minsk.