DOZENS of people are being pushed back at the Lithuanian and Latvian borders with Belarus and left to fend for themselves in the snowy forested area for weeks, an international humanitarian organisation warned today.

Thousands of people from Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere have tried to find safety in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia since last year, when the Belarusian government began flying asylum-seekers into the country and encouraged them to make the crossing.

Border guards in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have been accused of forcing people back through the fences to Belarus, leaving them without shelter, sufficient food, water and clothing.