Poland will build a border wall with Belarus to block the influx of migrants

The Polish parliament voted to build a controversial wall on the border with Belarus to block the influx of migrants entering Poland illegally.

Thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Asia, have tried to cross the border into Poland in recent months.

The EU accuses the government of Belarus of leading the increase, in retaliation for sanctions against its regime.

The 5.5m (18ft) wall will cost € 353 million (£ 297 million; $ 407) and some critics say it’s a waste of money.

The law will now go to the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, who should turn it into law.

The wall, equipped with motion sensors and a monitoring system, will cover about half the length of the 400 km length of the Polish border with Belarus. The government plans to build it by next summer.

Poland says that currently around 500 people try to illegally enter the country from Belarus every day. There were only 120 in all last year.

The EU accused Belarus of facilitating a route for migrants to cross its borders to EU neighboring states, in response to sanctions against opposition repression and President Alexander Lukashenko’s dissent.

Poland responded to the influx by building a barbed wire fence and sending thousands of troops to protect it.

But he was criticized for turning back migrants and refugees at the border. It has imposed a state of emergency, effectively banning journalists and aid workers from entering the border.

According to the United Nations, at least eight migrants have died along the Belarusian border.

Last week, Poland was among 10 member states that asked the EU to pay “barriers” to prevent migrants from entering. But EU head Ursula von der Leyen refused.

Claiming Poland is “under attack” from Belarus, nationalist Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday that the wall was essential to “protect” the country.

But opposition MPs say the wall will be costly and ineffective.

Barbora Cernusakova, an Amnesty International researcher, told the BBC that a wall is unlikely to deter migrants.

“What we know from past experiences in other borders is that it makes little difference,” he said.

“So it could eventually lengthen the time which makes the journey even more difficult, but it’s not really an effective way to deal with the situation.”