Warsaw, 29 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Poland wants to reintroduce a strip of restricted-access land at the EU's external border following a knife attack on a soldier at the frontier with Belarus.

A "buffer zone of around 200 metres is needed where it is necessary for the Polish state to act efficiently," said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday during a visit to the border town of Dubicze Cerkiewne.

The Polish army says a migrant attacked a soldier with a knife at the border on Tuesday and seriously injured him. The soldier had used his shield to cover a gap in the border fence through which migrants wanted to cross into Poland. One of the migrants stabbed him through the fence.

The border guards published photos on social media of a stick with a survival knife attached to it. The soldier was taken to hospital and underwent surgery. Poland's Defence Ministry says his condition remains serious.

Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner in order to destabilize the bloc.

In the summer of 2022, Poland secured the border with Belarus with a 5.5 metre high fence and an electronic surveillance system. Following the construction of the fence, a previously established 3-kilometre-wide restricted zone along the border was lifted.

Since the border fortifications were erected, migrants have attempted to cross the border on a daily basis. The Polish Border Guard has registered more than 15,000 such attempts since the beginning of the year.

Photo: EPA