French Roust Migrant 'Jungle'

Squatters' camp near Calais was home to hundreds of Afghans seeking asylum
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 22, 2009 3:36 AM CDT
French Roust Migrant 'Jungle'
Police officers form a cordon as they storm the migrants camp known as the "Jungle" in Calais today.   (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

French riot police stormed in today to clear an immigrant camp known as "the Jungle," the Guardian reports. The camp in woodlands outside Calais was home to hundreds of asylum seekers living in squalid conditions. Most were men and boys from Afghanistan seeking to cross to Britain on trucks going through the nearby Channel Tunnel.

Protesters shouted at police as the migrants were taken to buses. "It's shameful," one woman said. "They treat people like animals. Children were being pushed to the floor." Britain has refused a UN request to take hundreds of migrants from the camp. Immigrants will be held at shelters or detention centers while authorities process their claims. But officials won't deport individuals back to countries at war, and aid agencies believe most will end up back on the streets or camping elsewhere.
(More France stories.)

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