The zone, which restricts access to a 56-kilometer-long stretch of the border in the eastern Podlaskie region, was introduced in mid-June for a 90-day period to combat illegal border crossings and human trafficking.

Poland’s Belarusian border has become a source of tension since 2021, when migrants began to arrive in large numbers in Belarus. Warsaw has accused Minsk of pushing migrants across the border in an attempt to destabilize both Poland and the EU.

For most of its length, the zone extends 200 meters from the border, but in some areas it is 2-kilometers -wide.

Tomasz Siemoniak, the interior minister, said: “We are finalizing a new regulation on this issue, which will come into effect on September 11.

“It primarily targets human traffickers who smuggle people across the border,” he continued, adding that it had “brought good results.”

However, Siemoniak went on to say that the border fence will also be reinforced because, in some places, it was too easy to breach.

The zone has been criticized by human rights groups, which claim it prevents them from helping vulnerable people trapped on the border and limits scrutiny of the behavior of the Border Guard and police.