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26 Oct, 2016 14:16

Calais migrants attempt to break through police line to return to ‘Jungle’ camp - report

Inhabitants of the Calais ‘Jungle’ have attempted to break through the police line and storm back into the camp, which is being demolished by the authorities, according to RT's reporter on the ground.

Thousands of people have been removed from the camp over the last few days as workers backed by riot police dismantled the settlement on the French coast.

Mission accomplished,” Calais regional prefect Fabienne Buccio told Reuters.

Sky News also said that migrants were returning to the “Jungle.”

A migrant child, who was among those returning to the camp, waved a cricket bat and shouted: “Jungle is not dead! Jungle is not dead!” according to the British Express newspaper.

“It’s chaos with these ongoing fires and plumes of smoke [across the camp],” RT’s Harry Fear reported from the scene.

“The police line was broken by migrants wanting to enter back in,” he said, adding that it appears new fires have been set across the camp.

According to the RT correspondent, the operation to clear Calais looks much like a failure, despite claims of its complete success by the French authorities.

He said that fire brigades on site have been working “quite slowly” to put out the fires.

The RT crew also noticed “uncontrolled gas canisters [at the camp’s territory], which haven’t yet been secured by the authorities,” Fear added.

According to an unnamed regional official, the authorities will be able to shut down the processing center, which is dispersing migrants to different locations in France until the end of the day.

Fires keep burning in many locations around the camp as some migrants set fire to the camp in response to government actions.

READ MORE: Major fire engulfs troubled Calais ‘Jungle’ camp (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

The operation to clear the Calais ‘Jungle’ kicked off on Monday morning as over 2,000 migrants were taken by bus to temporary centers across France.

The demolition of tents and wooden structures, which the residents had used as shelter, started at the site on Tuesday. Violent clashes between the police and the inhabitants were reported, with tear gas deployed by officers.

The camp was set ablaze last night by refugees displeased with the demolition. The flames caused several explosions of portable gas, with four migrants arrested over the incident.

Thousands of migrants looking to cross the English Channel to find asylum in the UK have been holed up at the camp for months.

Britain, however, only agreed to take in around 1,000 migrant children from the camp who have relatives in the UK.

On Wednesday, almost 40 councils in England refused to accept any of the child refugees evacuated from the camp.

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