Thread: Migrant numbers growing again at Calais camp

World| Thu May 26, 2016 6:11am EDT Related: WORLD, FRANCE

Migrant numbers growing again at Calais camp

A migrant walks past makeshift shelters in the northern area on the final day of the dismantlement of the southern
part of the camp called the 'Jungle'' in Calais, France, March 16, 2016. REUTERS/PASCAL ROSSIGNOL

Hundreds more migrants have made their way to Calais on France's north coast in recent months despite the bulldozing of part of their "jungle" camp in March, and despite extra port security aimed at stopping them from reaching Britain.

Official figures from the Pas de Calais region put the total in tents, shanties and a new state-run city of converted shipping containers at 3,900, up from 3,500 at the end of March, but well down from the peak of over 6,000 reported in September.

And according to local aid organizations - who have long been at odds with the official count - numbers in the camp are much higher at somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 people, of whom several hundred are unaccompanied children and teenagers.

"We still see people arrive, the situation on the ground remains very difficult for refugees and specifically children," Marianne Humbersot, a lawyer who offers counseling for migrants, said.

Many of the migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere still try reach Britain, where they hope to resettle, either by climbing onto lorries heading onto ferries or by breaking into the nearby Channel Tunnel.

RELATED COVERAGE › Graphic: A closer look at Calais Graphic: A closer look at Calais | Reuters

These efforts are in spite of additional UK-funded security measures introduced in October including extra fencing, cameras and hundreds of additional police officers.

The camp itself has changed shape significantly this year.

A state-run park of converted shipping containers with capacity for 1,500 beds opened in January in the north of the jungle area. The southern half was cleared two months ago.

In another part of the northern section, migrants have been invited to move into dozens of large heated tents.

Refugees have also been encouraged to leave the area by bus for one of France's 136 reception facilities. A Pas de Calais spokesman said almost 4,000 refugees had traveled to these reception centers since November last year.

Migrant numbers growing again at Calais camp | Reuters

(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Andrew Callus and Louise Ireland)

20 injured in brawl at French 'Jungle' migrant camp

May 27, 2016 - 12:00:00 am

A migrant walks past a makeshift restaurant in the so-called "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais on February 23, 2016. AFP / Denis Charlet

Calais, France: Some 20 migrants living in the "Jungle" refugee camp in the northern French port of Calais were injured in a brawl between 200 Afghans and Sudanese on Thursday, local officials said.

The fight broke out as food was being distributed at the Jules-Ferry aid centre, local officials said.

It spread to a neighbouring container camp set up by local authorities, police added.

An AFP reporter at the scene also reported that several makeshift shelters within the main camp had been burned down.

The situation had calmed down by early evening.

Fights have frequently broken out in the tense and desperate atmosphere of the camp, which is roughly divided between the main communities -- primarily Afghans, Sudanese, Kurdish and Syrian.

Although the government says the number is vastly inflated, French and British charities say nearly 5,000 people remain in the Jungle despite efforts to clear the camp and demolish shelters earlier this year.

Thousands of migrants and refugees have camped out there, hoping to smuggle themselves aboard lorries that are crossing the Channel to Britain.

The Peninsula Qatar - 20 injured in brawl at French 'Jungle' migrant camp