Iraqi Kurds flee to Belarus

Thousands of asylum seekers, mostly from the Middle East, have gathered in the forests on the eastern frontier of the EU.

Groups of people like him emerge from tents or sleeping bags dotted along the barbed-wire fence that stretches as far as the eye can see.

They are stuck in the border area, which has been largely shut off to the media. As winter sets in, human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.

Many are from the Kurdish region of Iraq — a northern territory that is effectively autonomous.

Reports suggest Belarus lured asylum seekers like Shvan and Dilsoz into the country so they could be escorted to the border area. The Belarusian police have been accused of giving the refugees and migrants wire cutters to help them cross the border to Poland.