French riot police walk past makeshift shelters being dismantled in the migrant shantytown called the "Jungle" in Calais on Wednesday. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)

More than a dozen humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations accused local authorities of brutality against migrants as the demolition of a shantytown on the edge of Calais known as “the Jungle” continued into a third day.

After police moved ahead with dismantling the camp on Wednesday, six Iranian migrants sewed their mouths shut to protest the mass evictions and destruction of the makeshift facility in an attempt to bring attention to their plight, the Associated Press reported.

Some camp dwellers have stood on roofs to try to save their huts; others set them afire.

The Iranians held a sign asking for a U.N. representative to visit the camp.

Clare Moseley of the Care4Calais British volunteer group said the protest was “a cry for help because they don’t know what else to do.”

French authorities began dismantling the massive migrant camp in Calais on Feb. 29, 2016. Pro-migrant activists clashed with police, with at least three people being arrested. Thousands of migrants will be affected, although authorities have offered to relocate them. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

In a statement, French and British humanitarian organizations decried what they called the “mass gassing” of migrants by local authorities.

The French government had promised that the dismantling of the camp would be a “humanitarian operation.” But bulldozers and police arrived first thing Monday morning, and riots broke out among migrants. As a ground crew destroyed homes, migrants responded with rocks and police with tear gas.

[French court clears way for camp demolition]

The groups said the government’s “soothing rhetoric” was “only intended to disguise the reality” — a direct response to remarks last week from Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promising a methodical demolition.

That reality, they alleged, included rubber bullets used against migrants assembled in peaceful protest and several club beatings Monday and Tuesday. Many refugees, the 16 co-signers said, were “ordered to leave their homes in a time frame between 1 hour and 10 minutes,” in many cases without time to gather their belongings, including crucial identity documents.

“All they’re trying to do is get rid of the embarrassing situation,” Moseley said of the French government’s tactics in the camp. “They don’t care where the people go. They’re not even looking where those refugees go.”

Calais officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × A harrowing journey for migrants from France to Britain View Photos Many have tried to make it from Calais to the United Kingdom via the undersea channel tunnel. Caption Many have tried to make it out of a Calais camp via the undersea channel tunnel. Oct. 7, 2015 Nawaf, who would not allow his last name to be used because he fears for the security of his family in Syria, and other migrants attempt to reach the channel tunnel in Calais, France. Shannon Jensen/for The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

Meanwhile, the European Union moved to push through a proposal to earmark 700 million euros ($760 million) in humanitarian aid to deal with the refugee crisis.

Christos Stylianides, the E.U. humanitarian-aid commissioner, said Wednesday that 300 million euros ($325 million) would be earmarked for this year and used “where it is most needed,” alluding to Greece and the nations along the Balkan trail that refugees use to move into the heartland of the 28-nation bloc. The overall total would cover three years.

Stylianides said the funds will not be diverted from aid programs aimed at non-E.U. nations.

The proposal will need to be approved by the European Parliament and the member states when E.U. leaders meet Monday for a summit focusing on the migration issue.

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