Rise in number of ‘Jungle’ camp refugees, including children, being treated for stabbings, broken bones and head trauma

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

French police and armed civilian “militias” have launched a series of attacks against refugees in Calais in the last few weeks, a British charity said.



People, including a 10-year-old boy, have been attacked when leaving “the Jungle” migrant camp or in the surrounding area, with two currently in hospital intensive care units with life-threatening injuries.

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A team from the camp’s legal centre has filed eight complaints of police brutality and five against civilian militias to the French judiciary, according to Care4Calais, a charity that helped compile some of the incident reports.

The 10-year-old boy was allegedly subjected to police violence and a 13-year-old suffered a broken foot and broken nose, the charity’s founder said.

The attacks mark a sudden increase in the level and frequency of violence around the camp, with more than 50 incidents having been documented in the last three weeks.

Marianne Humbersot, from the legal centre, which is demanding an investigation by French authorities, said the civilian militias were armed and organised.

“We are seeing increasing breaches of human rights here in Calais – everything you can imagine,” she said. “And the refugees, who have already endured so much to escape conflict, are finding themselves at the centre of hostility and violence here in France.”

The charity Médecins sans Frontières has treated some of the victims, with staff witnessing injuries including fractures, stabbings, broken bones, severe bruising and head trauma, some of which have been life-threatening.

Dr Marlene Malfait, MSF’s medical coordinator at the camp clinic, said: “Some of the injuries are severe, resulting in fractures, now averaging 12 cases a week.”

Clare Moseley, the founder of Care4Calais, said she had interviewed a 16-year-old boy who was allegedly beaten with sticks by police who handcuffed his arms behind his back, and he was then attacked by a civilian militia.

“These incredibly worrying claims compound the urgency of unprovoked brutality,” she said. “These refugees have come here because they have no choice. They have fled from horrific circumstances. For these [attacks] to happen to them shows a total disregard for humanity.”