Several groups of migrants attempting to breach the border between Belarus and Poland have been successfully pushed back, Polish border officials said on November 20.

The attempts occurred late on November 19 amid a drop in the number of migrants that have been trying to force their way into Poland from Belarus.

'The foreigners were aggressive. They threw rocks and fireworks and used tear gas,' a police statement said, adding that the largest group consisted of 200 foreigners.

Polish police said that during one crossing attempt near the village of Starzyna, Belarusian servicemen threw stones towards Polish border guards, policemen and soldiers, resulting in police cars being damaged.

The EU accuses Belarus authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka of flying in migrants and funneling them to the borders of member states Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania to retaliate for sanctions the bloc imposed over a sweeping crackdown since last year's disputed presidential election.

Belarus denies fomenting the crisis. Speaking to the BBC on November 19, Lukashenka said it was 'absolutely possible' his forces had helped people cross into the EU but denied inviting thousands of mostly Middle Eastern migrants to Belarus in order to provoke a border crisis.

Polish officials said they recorded a total of 195 attempts to cross the border illegally on November 19, down from 250 on November 18 and 501 the day before, though Warsaw warned that the migrant crisis was far from over.

'We have to prepare for the fact that this problem will continue for months. I have no doubt that that will be the case,' Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told the commercial RMF FM radio station.

'Now a bit of a new method has been taken on by the migrants and Belarusian services... Smaller groups of people are trying to cross the border in many places,' he said.

He added that 'there is no question that these attacks are directed by Belarusian services.'

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will visit Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on November 21 to discuss the crisis, a government spokesman said on November 20.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP and dpa

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Washington DC 20036