Belarus-Poland border crisis 'complex and problematic situation' says European Council rights chief

On a visit to Poland, the European Council Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic says that the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus is "extremely complex and problematic". She denounces the "unacceptable" attitude of the Belarusian authorities who she says "manipulate" the thousands of migrants massed at the border

Polish forces fired tear gas and water cannon on Tuesday at stone-throwing migrants trying to cross the Belarusian border, sparking accusations from Belarus that EU and NATO member Poland was trying to escalate the crisis.

Polish border guards, who are deployed along with the army and police, estimate up to 4,000 migrants are currently camped out on the frontier between Poland and Belarus in increasingly dire conditions and freezing temperatures.

Western powers accuse Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the crisis, possibly with Russia's backing, by luring migrants to the border to sow division in the European Union -- 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.

The Defence Ministry said 15,000 troops have been deployed. There were an estimated several hundred border guards and police officers.