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Calais 'Jungle': Migrant camp awaits demolition

Calais 'Jungle': Migrant camp awaits demolition

Migrants remaining at the "Jungle" camp in Calais are awaiting the beginning of demolition work, as French officials continue to remove residents by coach.

The clearance process saw more than 2,300 migrants leave voluntarily on Monday for centres across France.

Hundreds more left on Tuesday but the queues have slowed and officials said the demolition could be delayed.

The Jungle has become a key symbol of Europe's migration crisis, housing some 7,000 residents in squalid conditions.

The operation to close the camp has been largely peaceful so far, but concerns remain that some migrants will refuse to give up their attempts to cross the Channel.

The BBC's Simon Jones, at the camp, was jostled as police tried to keep order among the hundreds of migrants who lined up early on Tuesday to get on coaches out of the camp.

He said officials had been expected to move in later to begin clearing the Jungle's infrastructure. They were expected to do so by hand, as sending in bulldozers at this point would send the wrong message to migrants they wanted to convince to get on buses voluntarily.

But by mid-morning, no official demolition had begun. The French authorities said the priority was departures and there was no set time for the demolition, adding that it could be delayed until Wednesday.

Christian Salome of the Auberge des Migrants charity said the process had been working well because those leaving were the ones who wanted to.

But he added: "I'm much more concerned about later in the week when the only ones remaining are those who do not want to leave, who still want to reach England."

Those fears rose when the queue for the processing centre slowed considerably by midday on Tuesday.

There are warnings that those determined to stay will set up camp in the surrounding countryside while the demolition takes place before returning to the area.

Children are the only group allowed to stay in Calais. They will be housed in the camp's converted shipping containers while the rest of the Jungle is dismantled.

Almost 200 children from the camp have been brought to the UK, some of them under the "Dubs" amendment to the Immigration Act, according to UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The amendment allows particularly vulnerable children - such as girls and those under 13 - refuge in the UK, even if they do not have family already in the country.

The operation to clear the tents and shelters was expected to take three days. More than 1,200 police have been deployed.

The French interior ministry said "police might be forced to intervene" if there was unrest during the demolition.

Source: bbc.com

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