POLAND has reintroduced temporary border checks with Germany and Lithuania, claiming that there is a growing number of undocumented migrants.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw needed to “redirect” migration routes bypassing the Belarusian border through Latvia and Lithuania.

Mr Tusk vowed to “redirect this stream of people, which is deflected by our barrier, but which wants to cross Poland again through the border with Latvia and Lithuania, and further into Europe.”

The decision comes amid wider tensions across Europe over migration.

Germany has recently stepped up efforts to turn back undocumented arrivals on its Polish border under EU and bilateral agreements.

Polish officials say this has unfairly burdened their country and that checks on the German border will be lifted once Berlin eases its own.

But Knut Abraham, Germany’s envoy for Polish relations, warned the new checks could cause traffic congestion and trade disruptions without curbing migration. 

And Rafal Gronicz, mayor of the border town of Zgorzelec, dismissed fears of a migrant crisis as overblown.

He said: “As long as I live, I have never known anyone who wanted to escape from Germany to Poland. 

“There are no pressing waves of migrants walking around Zgorzelec.”

Tensions have risen in recent weeks following the killing of a 24-year-old woman in Torun by a suspect of Venezuelan origin.  
The death sparked mass protests led by nationalist groups.

Far-right groups have also begun patrolling Poland’s western frontier, claiming to guard against migrants. 

Human rights organisations have condemned the patrols, warning they stoke xenophobia.

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said: “The actions of these self-proclaimed groups are the result of a radicalising political narrative. 

“Debate on migration should be grounded in facts, not fear.”