ROME, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Police officers forcibly evicted dozens of Roma families from camps in Rome and Turin, human rights groups said.
The operations began early Thursday morning, when 70 police officers dismantled the Via Salviati camp just outside the center of Rome, ANSA reported. About 35 families were taken to a large formal camp, Castel Romano.
This is the second time Roma families have been evicted from Via Salviati.
Roma living in a camp in Turin were also evicted by city authorities Thursday. One hundred people were inhabiting the Cascina Continassa area, which will be made into a new training camp for the city's soccer club.
The Roma community says Castel Romano is a Roma-only mega-camp around 15 miles from the city, making it extremely difficult for Roma to access jobs and education.
Human rights groups condemned Thursday's evictions.
"Rome's formal camps cannot be considered as alternative appropriate housing as it is proven that living in these settlements undermines the enjoyment of essential social and economic rights and has a strongly negative impact on the lives of its inhabitants, in defiance of the most basic human rights," the European Roma Rights Center said in a statement.
"The forced eviction is an undeniable backwards step from the positive commitments made in the National Strategy for Inclusion of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti, which emphasises the need to overcome the model of the 'camp' to combat isolation and promote social inclusion paths."
