Body of Syrian man found on Belarusian-Polish border

The body of a Syrian man was found on the border of Belarus and Poland on Saturday amid international concerns about a growing migration crisis in that area.

Polish police said on Twitter that the body was found in a forest near Wolka Terechowska, according to OkeyNews. Police were unable to determine the cause of death at the scene.

Polish police also said that around 100 migrants tried to cross the border in the same area where the man was found, according to Agence France Presse (AFP). However, the migrants fled after seeing the authorities.

The body arrives amid a growing crisis, which has seen migrants from the Middle East taking refuge on the Belarusian border with Poland.

Eleven people have been found dead on both sides of the border as of Saturday, according to AFP.

The European Union (EU) has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of provoking the crisis in response to sanctions imposed by Western countries. On Tuesday, the spokesman for the EU executive branch claimed that Belarus was telling migrants to come to the border.

Belarus, for its part, has blamed the European bloc for the crisis. The Russian government, which has been supporting Belarus during the crisis, has said the same thing.

Lukashenko made headlines on Thursday when he suggested closing the Yamal pipeline, which brings Russian natural gas to Poland and Germany through Belarus, as the EU threatens to impose sanctions over the migration crisis.

“We are heating up Europe, they still threaten us to close the border. What if we shut down natural gas there?” said the Belarusian president in part. “Therefore, I would recommend that Polish leaders, Lithuanians, and other headless people think before they speak.”