GETTY More than 1,500 illegal migrants were living in the camp at the Stalingrad Metro Station

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Officers set out to dismantle the illegal ‘Stalingrad’ migrant tent camp, after an evacuation of the area began in the early hours of today. More than 1,500 Sudanese, Afghan, and Eritrean migrants were evacuated from the camp – located under the Stalingrad metro station in east Paris – where they were said to be living in increasingly squalid and unsanitary conditions. The unexpected arrival of a large group of Afghan women and children earlier in the week reportedly accelerated the relocation process.

GETTY Women and children were the first to be relocated in the morning hours

The evacuation, for which scores of police officers were present, kicked off around 7am local time, and women and children were the first to leave the camp by bus.

There are many families here with small children – more than usual Emmanuelle Cosse, Housing minister

The makeshift tent camp had already been evacuated on August 17, and more than 700 migrants were re-located to other reception centres across the capital. But initial efforts to demolish this camp failed, and the number of people living there increased at a startling rate.

GETTY Officials said they can only relocate migrants once they find suitable shelters for them

Housing minister Emmanuelle Cosse, who was at the Stalingrad camp when the evacuation took place, confirmed that more than 1,500 illegal immigrants had been living in the camp. “There are many families here with small children – more than usual. They are obviously going to be taken good care of,” she said. When asked why it had taken local authorities such a long time to fully dismantle the illegal refugee camp, Mrs Cosse said that the situation at Stalingrad was “complicated” because migrants could only be relocated once decent shelter places had been found, and not before.