Clashes Among Refugees in Northern France Result in 27 Injuries

On Friday, during a widespread internal conflict at the Calais refugee camp in northern France, 27 refugees were injured. Among them, four Eritrean citizens were shot and are in critical condition. The French police have increased their presence in the area. The French government has described the situation and the outbreak of widespread violence in this camp as 'intolerable.' The port of Calais is the main route for refugees entering the UK. According to official reports, the conflict began on Thursday when hundreds of refugees gathered outside an area near a truck heading to Britain. Three clashes occurred among the refugees on Thursday, resulting in 22 refugees being hospitalized. Four Eritrean citizens were shot in the neck, chest, abdomen, and lower back at a food distribution point and are in critical condition. Another refugee was injured in the shooting, but officials say he is not in serious danger. The police are searching for a 37-year-old Afghan man accused of human trafficking and involvement in this attack. Several eyewitnesses in the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer reported seeing individuals shooting at each other. Following the clashes in the Calais camp, several other refugees were injured by knife wounds. Gérard Collomb, the French Minister of the Interior, visited the site of the clashes on Friday and stated that the situation is 'intolerable for both refugees and the people of Calais.' He urged those dreaming of going to Britain to reconsider. This violence comes two weeks after Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, visited Calais and stated that there would be no tolerance for those who set up such camps and turned them into a 'jungle.' The French President then traveled to Britain, where Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, promised to send more help to prevent the transfer of refugees to Britain and to accept more unaccompanied children among the refugees. The French Minister of the Interior attributed the tensions to traffickers who charge 2,500 euros per person to transport them by boat through the Eurotunnel to Britain. He added that such trafficking networks must be dismantled and announced that more police forces would be deployed to the area. The clashes on Thursday began between nearly 100 Eritrean citizens and 30 Afghan citizens in Calais while waiting for free food. Refugees were waiting for bread and tea in near-zero temperatures. An 18-year-old Afghan refugee told AFP, 'Some refugees did not have money to pay their trafficker, and the trafficker got angry and started shooting.' According to the district prosecutor, shortly after, nearly 100 Eritrean citizens armed with wooden and iron rods clashed with about 20 Afghan refugees. The police intervened to protect the Afghan refugees. Other clashes occurred in the area afterward. Reports indicate that two French police officers were also injured during the suppression of these clashes. The French Minister of the Interior described Calais as a wall that refugees are banging against and added, 'If refugees want to go to Britain, this is not the place for that.' The area known as the Calais Jungle, which housed over 10,000 refugees, was dismantled in 2016, but since then, refugees have continued to flock to this coastal city.