Street battle erupts at makeshift migrant camp in Paris

By Reuters   April 17, 2016 | 03:35 pm PT
Video emerges showing migrants in Paris clashing with each other and with police on the night of April 14 at a makeshift migrant camp underneath a railway bridge.

Amateur video has emerged showing violent clashes between groups of migrants that had erupted on Thursday in northern Paris near Stalingrad metro station.

The video, filmed by resident Arnault Chene from his apartment on Boulevard de la Villette, shows groups of men, carrying wooden planks and metal poles, throwing objects at each other.

According to the author of the video, a first battle erupted between groups of migrants living near the subway station started around 9 p.m. (1900GMT) which was rapidly stopped by police.

Clashes started again two hours later and became much more violent that the first time.

During about 20 minutes, migrants were seen fighting against each other and throwing objects in a fierce battle that hospitalized several, local media said.

Migrants living near the subway station arrived on March 30th and most of them came from Calais, Arnault Chene said.

Chene said that among groups opposed in the battle were some Africans and Kurdish migrants.

He said it was the first time clashes took place in this makeshift camp, hosting about 300 people.

The battle stopped after police arrived for the second time and threw tear gas on the migrants.

Chene said that the migrants had come back to the camp as soon as Friday and that the camp was even more crowded on Sunday (April 17).

Chene added that no new fight had erupted since Thursday night but that tension between groups remained high.
 
 
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