Syrian man found dead near Belarus border

WARSAW－The body of a young Syrian man has been found in a forest close to the border between Poland and Belarus, Polish police said on Saturday.

"The body of a young Syrian man was discovered yesterday in the forest near Wolka Terechowska," police of the Podlasie region said.

"The cause of the death could not be determined at the scene."

The death brings the number of migrants found dead on both sides to 11 since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.

Police also said a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the same area.

"After seeing police and soldiers, people on the Belarusian side fled into the forest," police said.

Polish border guards also accused Belarusian forces of destroying some barbed wire fencing laid down by Polish forces overnight, releasing a video that purported to show Belarusian forces using lasers and strobe lighting while doing so.

Syria's Cham Wings Airlines said it suspended flights to Belarus' Minsk airport on Saturday, reported Belarusian media.

Arrival screens at the Minsk international airport on Saturday showed flights from Damascus had been canceled.

New sanctions

The European Union is considering imposing new sanctions on carriers connecting Minsk to destinations in the Middle East, as migrants came to the Polish border through Minsk.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview that there were no planes from the national Belarusian air carrier Belavia that brought migrants from the Middle East to Belarus.

Thousands of migrants have crossed or attempted to cross the EU and NATO borders since summer.

The crisis escalated last week when larger groups of hundreds of migrants began arriving at the border attempting to get through.

Polish border guards estimate that up to 4,000 migrants are camped out along the border.

Western countries have accused Belarus of engineering the crisis in retaliation against EU sanctions, accusations Minsk has denied.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to help resolve the migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, RIA news agency reported on Sunday citing an interview on a state TV channel.

"We are ready to help it by all means if of course anything would depend on us," Putin said.

Russia denies Moscow and Minsk were involved. Putin blamed the West for the crisis referring to conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Agencies - Xinhua