POLISH riot police were deployed against migrants, including families with young children, today as they camped just across the European Union border in Belarus amid a tense stand-off.

Authorities report that the situation was calm overnight, but they were bracing for any possibilities and Poland’s Defence Ministry reported that large groups of Belarusian forces were moving towards the camp.

Extra troops have been deployed after desperate crowds tried to cut a barbed-wire border fence.

Several migrants have died in recent weeks while waiting at the border.

Tensions flared on Monday as a large group of frustrated migrants sought to make their way into Poland.

Polish forces pushed back, forcing the migrants to settle into a camp in the near-freezing temperatures with tents and campfires along the border, according to videos posted on Twitter.

In the footage, Polish police are heard playing an announcement to warn the migrants that crossing the border is only allowed at official crossings, where visas are required.

But from this morning, the nearest crossing point in Kuznica was closed.

The EU reacted to increased tensions between them and Belarus by tightening rules for Belarus officials over what it called a “hybrid attack” against the bloc in retaliation for Western sanctions against the government.

The claim has been denied by Belarus.

EU headquarters said that it was “partially suspending” an agreement it has with Belarus that eases visa rules.

The move hits Belarusian members of the government, lawmakers, diplomats, and top court representatives.

It increases travel red tape and requires them to provide extra documents and pay more for visas.

Polish nationalist Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak visited the border this morning to meet border guards and other security officials.

Mr Morawiecki praised them, also on behalf of the EU, for their “effective defence of our border.”

The migrants are mostly people from the Middle East and Africa who are often seeking to reach family members in Germany or other countries in western Europe.

Germany’s outgoing interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said that all EU countries must “stand together, because [Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko] is using people’s fates with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin to destabilise the West.”

He called for the European Commission to support Poland in securing the border.

“The Poles are fulfilling a very important service for the whole of Europe,” he said.