Police Evacuate Makeshift Refugee Camp in Paris
Around 350 police officers began emptying a makeshift refugee camp in the Porte de la Chapelle area of northeast Paris on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
At least 1,000 migrants and refugees of mostly Afghan and African origin had been living there for months.
The camp developed next to an official government refugee transit center that was built last year to remove people from the streets but it has limited capacity to house the influx of migrants.
Citing “security and health” risks, police moved the camp’s inhabitants to temporary shelters elsewhere in Paris, according to Al Jazeera.
Migrants Attempt to Enter Spanish Enclave From Morocco
Around 100 people entered the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa after forcing their way across the razor-wire border fence with Morocco, the Associated Press reported.
Spanish and Moroccan police officers drove back another 200 people, most from sub-Saharan Africa, who tried to climb the 20ft (6m)-high fence into Melilla early Tuesday morning, police said.
Police clashed with some migrants who flung rocks and other objects, leaving three police officers and three migrants injured.
Melilla and Ceuta are Spanish enclaves in North Africa through which some migrants try to reach Europe.
Italy Will Open New Detention Centers to Speed up Deportation Process
Italy plans to build new detention centers across the country in the coming months to hold migrants slated for deportation.
Interior minister Marco Minniti said 1,600 new beds are needed for the centers and on Tuesday requested regional governments to provide such spaces.
Opponents of the plan say migrants face inhumane conditions in the centers, which have previously failed to realize the government’s goal of expediting deportations.
Italian authorities closed similar detention centers in the past after migrants staged protests and because of difficulties identifying migrants’ nationalities. Yet Italy is under pressure to shelter the ever-growing numbers of asylum seekers arriving on its shores, and to speed up the processing of asylum claims and deportations.
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