Nationalists march in Poland amid border crisis with Belarus

By VANESSA GERA and MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thousands have marched peacefully in Warsaw to mark Poland’s Independence Day, led by far-right groups calling for strong borders, while its troops blocked hundreds of new attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally from neighboring Belarus. Security forces patrolled the capital and other cities for the holiday rallies, which in recent years have seen attacks by nationalist extremists. This year’s march was overshadowed by events on the border, where thousands of riot police and troops are turning back migrants, many from the Middle East, who are trying to enter the European Union from Belarus. With temperatures falling and access to the frontier restricted, there are fears of a humanitarian crisis.