Two men wounded in shooting at French migrant camp
Two migrants were wounded yesterday in shooting following a row in a migrant camp in the northern French port of Dunkirk, several sources said.
A 30-year-old Iraqi migrant received a gunshot wound in the groin, and a 25-year-old man whose nationality was unknown was wounded in his side in the Grande-Synthe camp on Monday, a police source said. Both men required hospital treatment, but neither suffered life-threatening injuries.
A spokesman for the local authorities said, "A police investigation is under way to establish the precise circumstances of this row and who fired the gun."
The shooting followed an incident on Sunday in which two migrants in the camp suffered minor knife wounds.
The Grande-Synthe camp was built by the charity Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and the local authorities, and currently holds nearly 800 people.
Charities and migrants associations say pressure at the nearby "Jungle" camp in Calais is building, after the summer months have seen an influx into the camp.
Some groups believe 9,000 people are now crammed into the Jungle, which is a largely makeshift camp, although 1,750 residents are housed in more permanent accommodation created from shipping containers.
Local authorities are due to carry out a new head count, but for now are sticking to the figure of around 4,500 from a survey in mid-June. French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut down the Jungle.
Thousands of migrants and refugees have gathered in Calais and other ports on France's northern coast, hoping to smuggle themselves aboard buses crossing the Channel to Britain, either through the Eurotunnel or on board ferries.
A 30-year-old Iraqi migrant received a gunshot wound in the groin, and a 25-year-old man whose nationality was unknown was wounded in his side in the Grande-Synthe camp on Monday, a police source said. Both men required hospital treatment, but neither suffered life-threatening injuries.
A spokesman for the local authorities said, "A police investigation is under way to establish the precise circumstances of this row and who fired the gun."
The shooting followed an incident on Sunday in which two migrants in the camp suffered minor knife wounds.
The Grande-Synthe camp was built by the charity Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and the local authorities, and currently holds nearly 800 people.
Charities and migrants associations say pressure at the nearby "Jungle" camp in Calais is building, after the summer months have seen an influx into the camp.
Some groups believe 9,000 people are now crammed into the Jungle, which is a largely makeshift camp, although 1,750 residents are housed in more permanent accommodation created from shipping containers.
Local authorities are due to carry out a new head count, but for now are sticking to the figure of around 4,500 from a survey in mid-June. French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut down the Jungle.
Thousands of migrants and refugees have gathered in Calais and other ports on France's northern coast, hoping to smuggle themselves aboard buses crossing the Channel to Britain, either through the Eurotunnel or on board ferries.