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'Jungle' migrant camp in France to begin closure Monday

By Doug G. Ware
Tents and shelters pile up on top of a hill in the illegal makeshift camp known as "the jungle" in Calais, France, on Sept. 10. French officials said Friday that workers will begin dismantling the camp on Monday. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI
1 of 8 | Tents and shelters pile up on top of a hill in the illegal makeshift camp known as "the jungle" in Calais, France, on Sept. 10. French officials said Friday that workers will begin dismantling the camp on Monday. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo

CALAIS, France, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Officials will begin dismantling a large refugee camp in north France next week due to poor conditions there that have led many to call it "the jungle."

The camp, located in the port city of Calais, is currently home to about 7,000 migrants from the Middle East, who have fled their homelands due to ongoing fighting. Its unsanitary and crowded environment has become a symbol of the European migrant crisis.

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The French interior ministry said Friday that workers will begin closing the camp on Monday and the process will last for much of the week.

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Migrants, including many children, have lived at the camp for the last 18 months. They will now be relocated.

French authorities have also given the refugees notice to evacuate the settlement, officially called the Lande camp, or be removed by force.

Tens of thousands of refugees have fled Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years due to intense fighting among local populations and with terrorist militants.

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