Calais Jungle migrant camp clear-out comes to a grinding halt after bungling officials ‘RUN OUT of buses to carry refugees away’
Asylum seekers are being registered and bussed to reception centres in other parts of France amid huge effort to close camp
THE operation to clear the notorious Calais Jungle camp has come to a grinding halt after authorities “ran out of buses” to carry migrants away.
Hundreds of asylum seekers began pouring out of the camp this morning as riot police surrounded the shantytown prior to its destruction.
The news comes after the camp saw sporadic fighting overnight, with fires being lit and tear gas being used to quell the disturbances.
As a spotter helicopter flew overhead this morning, scores of CRS riot squad vans surrounded the perimeter of the camp, where between 6,000 and 10,000 migrants have been living.
The vast majority want to get to Britain to claim asylum, and have been trying to get aboard ferries and trains illegally.
This has been going on for more than 20 years, but the French authorities now believe they can clear the Calais area of all camps.
“We have no idea where we’re going, but it’s got to be better than here,” said Kili, who said he was 19 and from Sudan.
“A group of us have been told we can travel together, and will aim to stay together.
“We have no destination for today yet, but we still all want to get to England.”
A small group of protestors, including some from Britain, could be seen at one of the entrances to the camp this morning – but they were easily outnumbered by police.
Natacha Bouchart, the Mayor of Calais, said she was “relieved but also worried” about the week-long operation.
She confirmed that members of a left wing British group called No Borders were in the port town, and might try to attack the police.
The destruction of the camp will involve up to 1,250 officers, and today the priority was to clear large areas before the bulldozers go in.
When the south side of the Jungle was destroyed in February, there was widespread violence, with police coming under sustained attack.
Fires were lit across the camp, while water cannon and tear gas were used to hold back mobs of activists and migrants.
Young Afghan men have already been seen smashing up the cafes, shops, and restaurants inside the Jungle.
Failure to leave the Jungle or to cooperate with the authorities will result in arrest and detention, police warned.
Migrants were today required to present themselves at the temporary bus depot where they could choose between two regions in France where they will be transferred.
Unaccompanied minors living in the Jungle will be processed separately and include interviews by British officials. Checks will be carried out to determine their ages.
There have been encampments full of migrants in Calais for at least 20 years, but the Jungle is by far the biggest.
As well as restaurants and shops, there are Christian and Muslim places of worship, but it has become notorious for violence and squalor.
A female interpreter working for a French TV channel was raped at knifepoint by three men close to the Jungle last week, and there are regular fights with the police.
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