Attacks on 'Jungle' migrants investigated by French prosecutors By Tomos Morgan

BBC News, Calais Published duration 6 February 2016 Related Topics Europe migrant crisis

media caption Migrants say there are suffering violence in the refugee camp, known as the Jungle

French prosecutors are investigating at least six attacks on migrants at the makeshift Calais camp called the Jungle, the BBC understands.

Assaults on people living there are increasing, volunteer legal teams have claimed, and they described the situation as "endemic".

One Syrian, called Ahmed, told the BBC he and his friends had been severely beaten one night and taken to hospital.

About 5,000 migrants trying to reach the UK are thought to live at the camp.

Ahmed suffered a broken jaw and a black eye. One of his friends suffered a severe concussion, and was under medical supervision for four days because of a bleed on the brain.

The men say the attack on them lasted about 20 to 30 minutes.

image copyright AFP/Getty Images image caption About 5,000 migrants and refugees are staying at the 'Jungle'

Marianne Humbersot, the head of a legal centre opened by volunteers in the camp about a month ago, says she has been told of 20 attacks in the last two weeks.

Many migrants do not want to make a complaint to the police, she says.

The investigations have not yet identified any individuals, but Jean-Pierre Valensi, one of the main prosecutors in the region, says they know they drive a black BMW and use metal weapons.