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Calais camp demolitions resume after teargas fired overnight Calais camp refugees stage sit-in protest as demolitions resume
(about 1 hour later)
Migrants and refugees at the makeshift “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais are braced for another chaotic day, as demolition teams protected by French police resume clearing part of the camp. Migrants and refugees at the makeshift Jungle camp in Calais are staging a sit-in protest on top of shelters in an attempt to protect their makeshift homes from demolition teams who resumed work on Tuesday.
Riot police fired more teargas overnight after an operation to dismantle hundreds temporary shelters sparked clashes on Monday. About two-dozen residents, with a few French activists, placed themselves on top of hut roofs as riot police arrived at the site.
Demolition teams returned to the site on Tuesday morning, after police fired teargas at about 150 people who were throwing stones at demolition teams. Video footage from a volunteer inside the camp showed residents running away from clouds of teargas. People on roofs of #Calais huts to stop workers demolishing them. Some pulled down by police earlier, I'm told pic.twitter.com/GsyKAR3z04
Riot police fired more teargas overnight after an operation to dismantle hundreds of temporary shelters sparked clashes on Monday.
There was no immediate sign of unrest on Tuesday. Activists said some people had been forcibly removed from shelters earlier in the morning, with at least two taken away by police.
Works crews in Calais continued the steady and methodical demolition of the camp throughout Tuesday morning, protected by dense lines of French police.
The orange-vested workers used power tools and their hands to pull down the makeshift wooden huts, the remnants of which were cleared away by diggers and put into giant metal skips.
The section of the camp being cleared so far, home mainly to Iranian nationals, was lined with riot police, some carrying shields, CS gas canisters and masks.
Signs of Monday’s unrest were evident around the camp, with large blackened spaces where shelters had burned down, and possessions strewn across the site.
Those evicted so far were mainly men, though volunteers said one pregnant woman and her husband were among those evicted on Tuesday morning.
Nico Stevens from the British group Help Refugees said at least 150 people had so far lost their shelters, but many of those had remained in the camp, sleeping in tents or communal buildings.
Authorities wanted those evicted to move either to a purpose-built camp of converted shipping containers adjoining the main site or take buses to accommodation centres elsewhere in France, Stevens said. “But as of two days ago there were only 140 places left in the container camp, and yesterday there was just one bus, so I’m not sure where people are meant to go.”
Stevens added that it appeared Calais authorities were set on demolishing the entire camp in the coming weeks. “They said they wanted it gone by the end of March, and that seems to be what is happening,” she said.
“We agree it should go, as it’s no way for people to live. But they promised people would be treated humanely and with dignity, and this is not happening. Some people were evicted at 5pm or 6pm last night, and had nowhere to go.”
Several residents said they planned to stay in Calais, whatever happened. “I will stay here,” said a man from Darfur, whose shelter is close to those already dismantled. “I don’t want to go to England anymore, just stay here.”
Meanwhile, in another flashpoint in Europe’s escalating migration crisis, teargas was also fired at people at Greece’s border with Macedonia, where more than 7,000 are stranded. The Macedonian president, Gjorge Ivanov, warned that the refugee route through the Balkans would have to close once Austria reached its cap of 37,500 migrants transiting through this year.Meanwhile, in another flashpoint in Europe’s escalating migration crisis, teargas was also fired at people at Greece’s border with Macedonia, where more than 7,000 are stranded. The Macedonian president, Gjorge Ivanov, warned that the refugee route through the Balkans would have to close once Austria reached its cap of 37,500 migrants transiting through this year.
In Calais, the French authorities say camp residents must move to shipping containers on another part of the site. They have also been offered places in 100 reception centres around France. The UN’s refugee agency warned that Europe was on the “cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis”.
Local authorities, who have promised that no one will be evacuated by force, say 3,700 people live in the camp, and that between 800 and 1,000 will be affected by the eviction. But charities say a recent census they conducted counted at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including 300 unaccompanied children. New figures showed that 131,724 people crossed the Mediterranean in January and February, including 122,637 landing in Greece. This exceeds the total for the first half of 2015.
UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards warned that Greece cannot manage the crisis alone. “It should concern everyone that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have so far only pledged 1,539 spaces, and only 325 actual relocations have occurred,” he said.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Mandelson, the former UK cabinet minister and EU commissioner, said: “Europe is grappling with an unprecedented crisis. I fear that this sort of crisis is going to grow as the Middle East becomes more volatile.
“The solution to this is not just to throw up new fences and new walls … what we need in Europe is a much stronger system to police the external border of Europe.”
“Europe in the future has got to devise much more robust ways of creating safe and legal routes for refugees and asylum seekers, and to recognise that while Germany has done an enormous amount and taken on a huge burden, there are responsibilities for the rest of us.”
Local authorities, who have promised that no one will be evacuated by force, say 3,700 people live in the camp, and that between 800 and 1,000 will be affected by the eviction. But charities say a recent census counted at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including 300 unaccompanied children.
Many fear this will require them to claim asylum in France, and give up their hopes of travelling to Britain.Many fear this will require them to claim asylum in France, and give up their hopes of travelling to Britain.
The UK-based Refugee Rights Data Project said that of the 460 residents asked what they would do if the camp was dismantled, 80% said they would remain in Calais or move to a more basic refugee encampment in nearby Dunkirk.The UK-based Refugee Rights Data Project said that of the 460 residents asked what they would do if the camp was dismantled, 80% said they would remain in Calais or move to a more basic refugee encampment in nearby Dunkirk.
On Monday, migrants and members of the British “No Borders” activist group, who launched projectiles at the police, set fire to about 20 shelters at the camp, as running clashes continued through the afternoon. Three members of No Borders and one migrant were arrested, according to local government officials. On Thursday, David Cameron is due to hold talks about the migration crisis with the French president, François Hollande. Britain has urged the French to stem the flow of people crossing the Channel, and has funded a huge increase in security measures around the port and tunnel in Calais.
The demolition of the southern half of the camp began after a court petition by charities to stop it was rejected last week.
“It’s infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that we’ve done in the past months,” said Maya Konforti of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants’ Hostel) charity.
On Thursday, David Cameron is due to hold talks about the migration crisis with the French president François Hollande. Britain has urged the French to stem the flow of peoplecrossing the Channel, and has funded a huge increase in security measures around the port and tunnel in Calais.
A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation under way. He said French officials from asylum agencies and other state agencies would continue to go from tent to tent to talk to migrants about their options, as they had done last week.A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation under way. He said French officials from asylum agencies and other state agencies would continue to go from tent to tent to talk to migrants about their options, as they had done last week.
He said: “There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers.”He said: “There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers.”
Fabienne Buccio, the head of the Calais prefecture, said three-quarters of the homes in the southern part of the camp were empty after officials encouraged residents to leave over recent days.Fabienne Buccio, the head of the Calais prefecture, said three-quarters of the homes in the southern part of the camp were empty after officials encouraged residents to leave over recent days.
Lord Mandelson, the former UK cabinet minister and EU commissioner, warned that the migration crisis would escalate. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: “Europe is grappling with an unprecedented crisis. I fear that this sort of crisis is going to grow as the Middle East becomes more volatile.”
He added: “The solution to this is not just to throw up new fences and new walls ... what we need in Europe is a much stronger system to police the external border of Europe.
“Europe in the future has got to devise much more robust ways of creating safe and legal routes for refugees and asylum seekers. and to recognise that while Germany has done an enormous amount and taken on a huge burden, there are responsibilities for the rest of us.”