Poland 'invaded' its neighbour Czech Republic in a 'horrible misunderstanding'

In a bizarre incident, Poland seems to have invaded its neighbour the Czech Republic last month by mistake. According to reports, Polish troops that were guarding the border as a COVID-19 measure crossed into the Czech Republic and took up defensive positions in a chapel. The Polish soldiers are reported to have stayed on the Czech side of the border for several days.

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Poland claims 'misunderstanding'

As per reports, during their brief occupation’ of the chapel, the Polish soldiers denied entry to visitors inside the chapel and Czech authorities had to step in and contacted Warsaw in an effort to resolve and de-escalate the situation. The incident took place in north-eastern Moravia that forms part of Silesia.

As per reports, the incident has been branded as a 'horrible misunderstanding’ by Poland but the Czech Republic has stated that it is still awaiting an official explanation from the Polish government.

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The chapel that the Polish soldiers ‘occupied’ lies 30 meters inside the Czech territory. As per reports, the incident first came to light when a construction engineer was prevented from visiting the chapel by the Polish soldiers who were armed with machine guns. The soldiers had reportedly set up a roadblock around the chapel.

The exact duration of the Polish occupation is unclear but according to reports the construction engineer was refused entry into the chapel on May 28 and the soldiers were still there through the weekend.

The border between nations of the European Union is barely visible to civilians because the union allows its citizens freedom of movement across member countries. That arrangement was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused countries to seal their borders with their neighbours in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. 

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(Representative Image - Pixabay)