In the last few weeks, more and more migrants have been arriving at the Alpine borders between Italy and France. Onward travel for migrants has been hampered by what authorities say are anti-COVID measures. That has led to some volunteer-run refuges closing their doors due to over-capacity. Now pro-migrant volunteers are calling on the state to help to resolve the situation.
Police in Germany have stopped dozens of armed, far-right vigilantes patrolling to stop migrants from entering Germany via the Polish border. Germany has sent hundreds of police officers to the border with Poland.
A group of migrants stuck at the Belarusian-Polish border trying to cross the border barrier has been repelled by guards using tear gas, the Polish Border Guard said. Up to 15,000 migrants and refugees could be stranded in the border region between the two countries.
Food, a chance to warm up, charging one's phone – these are some of the things locals on the Polish side of the Poland-Belarus border are offering to migrants via the 'Green Light' initiative. Their houses are marked with a green light. Meanwhile, the situation of the some 15,000 migrants at the border is getting worse.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said Russia is likely behind a wave of illegal immigrants from Belarus. He also says the EU has much to do on migrant policy despite numbers being below those of 2015 and 2016.
The situation along the new migration route from Belarus into the EU is escalating, with the EU calling the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko a human trafficker. The tension could come at the expense of the thousands of migrants trying to enter EU territory. Meanwhile, Pro Asyl and Catholic charity Caritas warned of human rights violations at the Polish-Belarusian border.
A manhunt is underway after two migrants were found dead in a van at the Austro-Hungarian border. According to press reports, the van is thought to have contained "almost 30 migrants."
Joint Serbian-Hungarian border police patrols started on Friday (October 15) to increase surveillance along the border and to intensify the fight against irregular immigration.
Human Rights Watch claims that Turkish border guards have been expelling refugees from Afghanistan back over the border with Iran. The illegal pushbacks went hand in hand with bodily harm, the NGO said.
Poland's parliament on Thursday passed legislation allowing for migrants to be pushed back at the border. Meanwhile, another migrant has been found dead near the border – the seventh confirmed death in recent weeks.
Migrants and asylum-seekers in eastern Poland say they have been illegally pushed back to neighboring Belarus multiple times without due asylum process. DW reports on the humanitarian crisis from the border region.
The Polish parliament is debating a draft law which would allow the country to erect a wall on its border with Belarus. The wall is expected to cost a little over €353 million.