Poland completes Belarus border wall to keep migrants out

By VANESSA GERA and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish authorities announced that the construction of a new steel wall along its border with Belarus has been finished. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki marked the completion of the wall with a visit to the border area on Thursday. The purpose of the wall is to keep out migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. On Friday, Polish authorities will also lift a state of emergency along the border that has made it impossible for journalists and human rights workers witness the human rights crisis in an area where at the very least 20 migrants have died.