Syrian baby dies in Polish forest near Belarus

A one-year old Syrian child has reportedly died in a Polish forest near the Belarus border, according to an account a Syrian mother gave a Polish Medical Rescue Team (PCPM) on Thursday.

The team found the alleged child's parents injured, along with another man, after they had been wandering for over a month through the forest, where they say they lost their child, the rescue group belonging to NGO Polish Centre for International Aid said in a series of tweets.

According to The Guardian newspaper, the baby would be the youngest known victim of the crisis at the border, where Poland says there are over 3,000 migrants, who charities warned are facing gruelling conditions with a lack of food and medical attention in their attempt to cross from Belarus.

"The mother told PCPM’s medical team she lost the child a month ago," the rescue team told The New Arab, adding that they were unable to verify her account as there was "no way to track the migrant mother who moved on after receiving medical care".

Młody mężczyzna miał silny ból podbrzusza. Był głodny i odwodniony. Oprócz niego pomocy potrzebowało syryjskie małżeństwo. Mężczyzna miał szarpaną ranę ręki, a kobieta ranę kłutą podudzia. Ich roczne dziecko zmarło w lesie.

Interwencja zakończyła się o 6:04. https://t.co/45ZfAPpqfP

— RatownicyPCPM (@RatownicyPCPM) November 18, 2021

The team said their intervention began after receiving reports at 2:26am on Thursday that medical attention was needed in the forest and ended at 6:04am after they provided humanitarian aid.

In recent weeks, many migrants have crossed into Poland through the Bialowieza forest in dark and near-freezing conditions.

At least 13 people have died as a result of the crisis on the Eastern edge of the EU.

The European Union has accused Belarus of orchestrating the crisis by encouraging migrants from the Middle East and Africa to cross into EU countries via Belarus, in revenge for Western sanctions on Minsk over human rights abuses.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's government has repeatedly denied the accusations.