Ethiopian refugee was gang raped during Calais Jungle migrant camp clearance | Daily Mail Online

A young woman was gang raped during the destruction of the Calais Jungle, French prosecutors revealed today. 

Five men set upon the Ethiopian refugee, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as police and volunteers were clearing the sprawling slum.

The victim was examined by a forensic doctor but had difficulty explaining the attack, on Tuesday morning, because she only speaks an Ethiopian dialect.

She is currently still staying in Calais until a translator can be found, said a source. 

It came as prosecutors said three suspects involved in the knifepoint rape of a 38-year-old Afghan interpreter around the squalid shantytown last week could have been people smugglers.

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A young woman was gang raped during the destruction of the Calais Jungle, French prosecutors revealed today. A riot police officer is pictured during the clearance yesterday

The attack took place on Tuesday morning when five men set upon the Ethiopian refugee, who cannot be named for legal reasons

They may now have escaped to Paris, along with hundreds of others displaced by the destruction of the Jungle, which at one point had up to 10,000 residents.

It became notorious for a range of crimes during the past few years, including rapes and other sexual assaults.

'The latest rapes are both being investigated as a matter of priority,' said a source close to both investigations, which are being led by prosecutors in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer supported by judicial police.

'In both cases those responsible are likely to be a long way from Calais by now, but everything is being done to try and find them.'

Discussing the October 18 rape of the interpreter, who is married and lives with her husband and two children in Paris, the source said: 'She has produced a description of the three men who attacked her, but it is unreliable so will not be released as a portrait.

'The men wore hoods, and there is very little chance of finding them in Calais now. It is thought that many of the traffickers have headed for Paris in the short term.' 

Massive fires were lit across the Jungle on Wednesday, hastening the end of the camp, as more than 4000 migrants were transported to centres all over France.

Today a few hundred stragglers were left in the still smouldering wreckage, as riot police wearing full body armour patrolled.

There have been migrant camps in the Calais area for at least 20 years, as thousands of residents used them as a springboard to reach the UK, where they claimed asylum or disappeared into the black economy.

But the French authorities have pledged that no more camps will be allowed, and that they will maintain a zero tolerance approach to those trying to get to Britain illegally. 

Last night, French authorities declared the Calais migrant camp empty after fires set by departing migrants and anarchists accelerated plans to evacuate the slum.

But a special camp nearby for unaccompanied children is full, leaving dozens with nowhere to spend the night.

Massive fires were lit across the Jungle on Wednesday, hastening the end of the camp, as more than 4000 migrants were transported to centres all over France

The white containers on the right are a temporary reception centre which has been set up for unaccompanied children whose fate will be decided in the next few days. The adapted shipping containers were designed to hold 1,000 children but are now full

As the three-day operation to raze to the ground the squalid shantytown ended there were fears many children would be forced to sleep out in the cold tonight because a camp, made up of white converted cargo containers, is full to the brim.

'The container camp where registered minors are sleeping is full,' said Samuel Hanryon, a Doctors without Borders spokesman said.

He said: 'There is simply nowhere for unregistered minors to go. They are wandering around, lost, wondering where they will spend the night.'

Head of the France Terre d'Asile charity, Pierre Henry, confirmed: 'There is no more space in the container camp.'

The container camp was designed to house up to 1,000 unaccompanied children, whose fate is being decided by the French and British authorities.

Local officials announced the total destruction of the Jungle, where thousands fleeing war and poverty have lived in squalor as they waited for a chance to sneak across the English Channel into Britain.

'Mission accomplished,' Calais' regional prefect Fabienne Buccio told Reuters. 'There are no more migrants in the camp,' he said.

Buccio said about 5,000 migrants had gone through a processing centre in the camp before being transferred away by bus around France to seek asylum, and another 1,000 were still queuing there. Authorities said they would stop processing people by Wednesday evening.  

Plumes of smoke rise into the sky over the Jungle, which has been cleared of migrants after a three-day operation 

The sun sets tomorrow on a scene of destruction with the Jungle virtually empty, the shacks all burned

On the ground there is nothing but debris. The Jungle is now uninhabitable

A Sudanese migrant, one of the last to remain, waves a Union flag, determined to cross the Channel

Afghan migrants hang around in the burnt out remains of the Jungle but most migrants have now left

As darkness fell tonight the remains of the Jungle is not a safe place for children

A French riot police officer forbids migrants to access the makeshift camp 'The Jungle' after several fires set the whole area on fire during its evacuation in Calais on Wednesday

A migrant goes back in the makeshift camp 'The Jungle' to retrieve some of their belongings, cheating the police who evacuated them after several fires set the whole area alight on Wednesday

Migrants run past a fire after tents and shacks were set alight in the makeshift camp the 'Jungle' during its evacuation

As the reality of the mass evacuation took hold, fearful migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria and Pakistan braced for a new reality. Some pledged to just keep moving.

'This jungle is no good,' said Muhammad Afridi, 20, from Pakistan. 'We go to a new jungle.'

The main alley through the camp near the city of Calais burned overnight, leaving skeleton-like hulks on either side of the road. Firefighters delved into the camp's deepest recesses, trying to prevent a massive conflagration. 

British anarchists were blamed for the massive fire that destroyed a large part of the Jungle. Steve Barbet, a spokesman for the regional authorities, said one migrant was hospitalised. About 100 migrants were evacuated. 

French Police have been told anarchists from the protest group 'No Borders' were responsible for starting the fire, which created a huge cloud of black smoke above the sprawling shantytown.

Commissioner Patrick Visser-Bourdon said migrants had told his officers members of the group sneaked into the camp in the early hours of the morning to set the blaze as an 'act of resistance'.

Gas canisters used by the migrants to cook and heat their homes were targeted, according to Visser-Bourdon.  

Mechanical diggers start to crush shelters in the makeshift migrant camp near Calais on Wednesday

A police officer stands guard while mechanical diggers start to crush shelters. French authorities declared the Calais migrant camp empty on Wednesday

Makeshift shelters are seen buring during the explosion of a gas bottle in the 'Jungle' on the third day of the evacuation

Raging fires, throughout the night and day, have destroyed many parts of the camp including shacks and makeshift shops

Police stop a migrant returning to the notorious Jungle camp as the authorities begin to demolish the site on Wednesday

A volunteer tries to extinguish a fire in the notorious Jungle camp, believed to have been started by departing migrants and anarchists 

This aerial photo shows how the fire was started near an entrance to the camp and has since spread through the make shift shelters

French police walk as smoke rises from fires at the camp in Calais, northern France, on Wednesday

Migrants go back in the makeshift camp 'The Jungle' to retrieve some of their belongings before the camp is declared 'empty'

Migrants takes selfies of the burning camp that was once a make shift home to more than 7,000 migrants

Migrants stand on a hill overlooking the 'Jungle' as smoke rises during a massive operation to clear the squalid settlement where 6,000-8,000 people have been living in dire conditions

Calais burning: Migrants watch on as a huge fire rips through tents and huts in the heart of the Calais Jungle this morning

More than 200 migrants had to be evacuated from the squalid camp as a fire raged through the makeshift buildings while rescuers were reportedly pelted with stones as they tried to tackle the blaze

A fierce fire spread among tents and caravans (pictured) as a mass clear-out of the camp continued this morning

More than 100 migrants had to be evacuated from the squalid camp as a fire raged through the makeshift buildings while rescuers were reportedly pelted with stones as they tried to tackle the blaze

Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud blast as flames ripped through tightly packed tents and huts

Thick black smoke covered the Jungle today as multiple fires raged through the almost deserted migrant camp in Calais

British anarchists have been blamed for a massive fire that destroyed a large part of 'Jungle' in Calais and injured several migrants

He said: 'Migrants say No Borders activists came into the camp in the middle of the night and set off the canisters,' said Mr Visser-Bourdon.

'We are investigating these claims, and trying to find those responsible. The migrants were not responsible but we are investigating.'  

However, Hamid, 30, from Afghanistan, said he had been among those setting fire to shelters.

'We don't care about problems that are to come after this. We did it because we don't want to stay in France, he said. 'We want to go to England and England only. It doesn't matter if I go to jail here.' 

Charred camp beds, toys and other items left behind by fleeing migrants could be seen among the wreckage. Dozens of gas canisters that had not exploded made the scene even more hazardous. 

The stench of melted plastic hung over the camp while in one building a burst water pipe sent water cascading over the ground. 

The fire seemed to have a demoralising effect on many of the migrants still left in the camp on Tuesday.

Like a defeated army dozens trudged away from the burnt out building dragging their few possessions and lining up to be sent to a new resettlement camp in other parts of France.  

Fire ripped through the camp this morning. Those Migrants still at the camp have little choice but to register with the French authorities and be moved to one of over 400 new centers across the country

Commissioner Patrick Visser-Bourdon said migrants had told his officers anarchists sneaked into the camp in the early hours of the morning to set the blaze as an 'act of resistance'

Volunteer fire fighters attempted to contain the blaze and prevent gas cannisters from exploding but many of the ramshackle buildings were left to burn

A migrant with his belongings walks past a burning makeshift shelter in the Jungle on the third day of their evacuation

Gas canisters used by the migrants to cook and heat their homes were targeted, according to local police

French Police have been told anarchists from the protest group 'No Borders' were responsible for starting the fire, which created a huge cloud of black smoke above the sprawling shantytown

Fire-crews came under attack from migrants who threw stones at them as they tackled the blaze, which spread from building to building

Protesting migrants were injured by exploding gas bottles and emergency services personnel were stoned as a massive fire broke out across the Calais Jungle today. Emergency crews are pictured tackling the blaze last night

The worst fires took hold from around 12.30am, when two gas canister exploded. Fires cut through a swathe of the Calais Jungle on Wednesday, sending migrants fleeing as French authorities prepared to ramp up demolition of the notorious camp

Pictures show the aftermath of a massive fire at the Calais Jungle overnight. The blazes spread just hours after workers protected by police moved in Tuesday to clear the squalid camp

Migrants were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and minor injuries, while some 200 had to be removed from the camp as the fires spread. Migrants are pictured wrapped in blankets as they wait to be transported across France

Located next to the port of Calais, the Jungle has for years been a launchpad for migrants attempting to make it to Britain by sneaking onto lorries or jumping onto trains heading across the Channel

The worst injured was a Syrian man in his 20s who was rushed to hospital with an 'injury to the eardrums'.

Others were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and minor injuries, while some 200 had to be removed from the camp as the fires spread. 

Regional prefect Fabienne Buccio said it was difficult to prevent the fires.

'Some migrants follow traditions - we asked them not to do it - but they set ablaze their tents and their shelters when they leave,' she said.

'We told them not to do it, but some... do it anyway. We are on standby, the fire brigade is in the vicinity to guarantee security and to prevent the fire from spreading. It's part of a tradition. Even if we would like them to refrain from doing it, they do it.'

Migrants have been transported by bus to more than 400 centres around France, where they can consider their options. 

A spokesman for the French interior ministry said it 'does not want to use force but if there are migrants who refuse to leave' then the forces of law and order would intervene. 

Gas canisters can be seen lying on the ground at the site of a huge fire in the Calais Jungle. A Syrian man was taken to hospital with injuries to his ear drums after a cylinder exploded in the flames, which ravaged one of the main thoroughfares in the camp

Tents and other facilities are set on fire as the demolition of Calais' Jungle camp has entered the second day yesterday

Migrants leaving the camp for the process centre pass by burnt shacks and tents that are still smoking

On Tuesday workers in hard hats and orange overalls used power saws to reduce shacks to piles of wood and plastic that were removed by diggers

A local official downplayed the blazes, saying: 'It's a tradition among communities who set fire to their homes before leaving'

The main row of shops in the Calais Jungle are burnt to the ground as police suspect that migrants burnt them down in the night

Workers begin dismantling tents in the Calais jungle migrant camp and are pictured taking gas cylinders away from the site

Britain took in around 200 teenagers in the week before the clearance began as an eleventh-hour gesture, with the transfers resuming on Tuesday after a hiatus on Monday

Around half of the camp's estimated population of 6,000 to 8,000 migrants have been transferred out since Monday, boarding buses to centres around France

Migrants queue on the third day of their evacuation and transfer to reception centres in France

Moving out: A migrant runs with a British flag above his head inside the Jungle camp near Calais. As part of the camp's clearance, 3,242 adults have been transferred to centres around France since Monday and 772 unaccompanied minors have been moved to shipping containers converted into temporary shelters in the Jungle, the interior ministry said

French CRS anti-riot police officers are silhouetted in the light of a truck at the Jungle. Authorities have said those who agree to be moved can seek asylum in France. Those who refuse risk deportation

A French anti-riot police officer stands guard by migrants wrapped in blankets. Police in Calais have battled near-nightly attempts by migrants to reach Britain over the past year

Taking action: A fireman attempts to douse a blaze as fire takes hold in the notorious Jungle camp this morning

Migrants watched on from a safe distance as the place they had called home went up in flames this morning

A fire fighter unleashed a jet of water in a bid to dampen fierce flames that took hold of the camp

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