EUROPE 01:32 12.03.2016(updated 01:43 12.03.2016)

French police have detained five people suspected of being involved in attacks on migrants in Calais, local media report.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The men, four of whom are unemployed, disguised themselves as police officers during the attacks, although they have not confessed to it, but "recognized that some of them were shouting ‘Police!’" and "used batons" during the assault, a police source told Francetv Info on Friday.

The attackers, aged between 18 and 48, have been in custody since Wednesday, according to Francetv Info. They are accused of assaulting three Syrians near the Calais railway station on the night of January 20-21. One of the Syrians has reported that 4,000 euros ($4,461) were stolen from him.

Francetv Info said that the men have carried out attacks on migrants in Calais more than once.The French port town of Calais is hosting some 6,000 refugees, who seek to travel via the Channel Tunnel to the United Kingdom where they intend to apply for asylum.

Since the start of March, the French authorities have been clearing up the makeshift southern part of the Calais migrant camp and resettling its estimated 800-1,000 residents, most of them from conflict-torn regions of the Middle East and North Africa.


Read more: 5 People Detained on Suspicion of Attacking Calais Migrants