Migrant children gather near the fence on the Poland/Belarus border near Kuznica, Poland, in this video-grab released by the Polish Interior Ministry, November 11, 2021. MON/Handout via REUTERS

Belarus and Poland are pushing refugees back and forth across their border and leaving them with little if any food, clean water or shelter, the U.N. Human Rights office said on Tuesday, urging both countries to address "this appalling situation".

Iran PressEurope: According to Reuters, thousands of migrants are stuck on the European Union's eastern frontier.

Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging the migrants to travel to Belarus and cross the border illegally as revenge for sanctions imposed on Minsk over human rights abuses.

Belarus denies this and says the EU is to blame for the humanitarian crisis on the border.

Stanislaw Zaryn, a spokesperson for Poland's special services, said his country's actions were legitimate and aimed to protect the country's borders.

"The migration route, controlled and organised by the Belarusian services, is only a tool used by the regime in Minsk," he said.

The UN Human Rights office, which said Belarus had not accepted its request to visit, urged both countries to "ensure that refugees' and migrants' human rights are at the centre of their actions."

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