Image copyright EPA Image caption A man gets medical help from rescue workers after clashes in Calais, northern France

At least five migrants have been shot during a mass brawl between Afghans and Eritreans in the French port city of Calais, local officials say.

A 37-year-old Afghan man is suspected of firing shots at a queue for food handouts. Four Eritreans aged between 16 to 18 are in a critical condition.

Hundreds of migrants have converged on the area in an attempt to cross the Channel to the UK.

A sprawling camp known as the "Jungle" was dismantled near Calais in 2016.

Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said the violence had reached a new level and accused gangs that try to smuggle migrants to the UK of instigating the violence.

This is the worst outbreak of violence between migrants in Calais for months, and the use of firearms is a worrying escalation of the tensions, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris reports.

How did the violence unfold?

The cause is not yet clear but an initial fight on the city's southern outskirts broke out on Thursday afternoon, where migrants had been queuing for food handouts.

Around 100 Eritreans and some 30 Afghans were caught up in the violence, which lasted almost two hours after the shots were fired.

The four critically injured were shot in the neck, chest, abdomen and spine, AFP news agency reported.

Image copyright EPA Image caption A group of migrants pictured with sticks during the clashes

A second melee erupted shortly afterwards at an industrial site around 5km (three miles) away, when between 150 and 200 Eritreans armed with iron rods and sticks clashed with about 20 Afghans, the local prefecture said.

Later in the afternoon further violence broke out at a food distribution point in an area of Calais not far from the site of the old "Jungle" camp.

Security forces were sent to the area and there were no reports of incidents during the night.

In total, 22 people were injured, including some with stab wounds, AFP added.

Visiting Calais, Mr Collomb added: "There's been an escalation of violence that has become unbearable for both the people of Calais and the migrants".

The government would take control of food distribution, currently done by charities, with those groups working in association with authorities, he said.

Why are the migrants there?

Though the "Jungle" camp was demolished in 2016, hundreds of migrants are still living rough in the nearby woods, hoping to reach the UK. Many are young men.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Violence broke out near the old "Jungle" camp

Local charities put the number of such migrants living in Calais at around 800, while the authorities say there are between 550 and 600.

Mr Collomb urged migrants not to head to Calais if they wanted to try to get to the UK, saying their attempts from there - often trying to hide themselves in lorries - would be unsuccessful.

The Calais "Jungle" became the French symbol of the European migrant crisis, and some 7,000 people - most from the Middle East and Africa - were living there before the area was cleared.

Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed a treaty to speed up the processing of migrants in Calais.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The migrants living where the Calais Jungle once stood

Mr Macron has said that France will not allow a new migrant camp to be set up in Calais, and French police have been accused of brutality by some activists.

He is expected to unveil a new migrant policy next month, which will include speeding up the application process for asylum seekers and faster removal of those who fail to be accepted.

Charities and some of the president's allies have accused the government of taking a hard line on immigration.</s>Four migrants have been shot in a gunfight that broke out between Afghan and Eritrean migrants in France's port city of Calais.

Reports differ on the conditions of the four wounded — The Associated Press says that all four were seriously hurt in the two-hour brawl, but France 24 reports that only one is in critical condition after the fight, involving hundreds of migrants "who had been queueing for food handouts."

Deutche Welle says the four shot were all Eritreans between the ages of 16 and 18.

The French news service says a second fight broke out later in another part of town, with about a hundred Eritreans fighting some 20 Afghans. At least 12 people were injured there by "blows from iron bars," news agencies report.

"The Pas-de-Calais prefecture said security forces were trying to protect Afghan migrants during a melee with Eritreans when the injuries happened. The prefecture ... had said earlier that two confrontations between Afghan and Eritrean migrants culminated in the gunfire. It is unusual for migrants to carry firearms."



Tensions are high in the city, which is a gateway for hundreds of migrants hoping to use it to cross the English Channel to the U.K. Humanitarian groups put the number of migrants living in Calais at about 800, but authorities say the figure is around 600.

According to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley, reporting from Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron has said that makeshift migrant camps would no longer be tolerated and that migrants must report to official centers.

However, humanitarian organizations say Europe's convoluted asylum process makes it nearly impossible for people to get the help they need.

A notorious camp in the city, known as "The Jungle," once housed 10,000 people, but was torn down in 2016. However, "hundreds of migrants remain in the port city seeking to stow away on England-bound trucks" via the Channel Tunnel.

The clashes come weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron signed a treaty with Britain to speed up processing of migrants in Calais.

According to the BBC:



"Mr. Macron said the Sandhurst Treaty signed on Thursday - the first joint treaty on the Calais border in 15 years - would "enable us to improve the relationship and the management of the joint border" and reduce the time taken to process migrants. It would mean the time taken to process migrants hoping to come to the UK from Calais, would be reduced from six months to one month for adults and 25 days for children."</s>Police reinforcements arrived in Calais on Friday after clashes between hundreds of Eritrean and Afghan migrants near the French port left 22 people injured.</s>A massive fight involving more than 100 Eritrean and Afghan nationals broke out in Calais, a French city that previously hosted an infamous refugee camp dubbed the "Jungle," leaving at least four teenage migrants aged between 16 and 18 in critical condition after being shot. According to media reports, the migrants had been standing in a queue waiting for food handouts.

At least a dozen others were injured during the nearly two-hour clashes, with about 22 people being hospitalized.

Local authorities said police intervened to "protect the Afghan migrants faced with 150 to 200 Eritrean migrants."

The fights that have recently increased in Calais drew the attention of the French government, with the interior minister announcing a surprise visit there to "take stock of the situation."

22 are wounded, including four by bullets during a fight

"We have reached an escalation of violence that has become unbearable for both those from Calais and migrants," Gerard Collomb said.

​Clashes between migrants in Calais: "This is a degree of violence that had never been reached," says Interior Minister Gerard Colomb, who arrived there at midnight

When announcing a new border security agreement with Britain last month, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that "in no case will we allow another 'Jungle' here."

READ MORE: Tear Gas, Fires and Police: The Demolition of the 'Jungle' According to Twitter

However, humanitarian groups working in the area claim there are at least 800 migrants left in the area after the demolition of the refugee camp.

Over the past years, several minors have died after attempting to illegally cross the English Channel from Calais to the United Kingdom due to months-long delays in the legal family reunification procedure. The situation prompted concerns of human rights groups in both the United Kingdom and France.</s>CALAIS, France -- Police reinforcements arrived Friday in the French port city of Calais after clashes among migrants left 22 people injured, with the interior minister warning of more potential violence among those seeking to cross into Britain.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters in Calais on Friday that five of the victims were injured by gunfire in Thursday's fighting, blaming migrant traffickers and "totally organized" gangs. Police were seeking a shooting suspect but have made no arrests, he said.

Firearms are rare among migrants, and the shootings were the most serious clash in recent times among migrants around Calais.

Two extra police units were arriving Friday, Collomb said. He said that while in the past such violence was spontaneous, he said it appears to be growing more organized. He said local authorities have dismantled six migrant trafficking networks already this year, compared to 20 in all of 2017.

The prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais region said the gunfire was the culmination of a showdown between Afghan and Eritrean migrants, fighting each other with sticks and stones, after a meal distribution near the Calais hospital.

In a second confrontation, up to 200 Eritrean migrants cornered 30 Afghans near the former site of a makeshift migrant camp that housed thousands of people before it was evacuated and destroyed in 2016.

Collomb said the government will start meal distribution to migrants outside Calais in the coming two weeks, instead of leaving it to aid groups, in an effort to stop feeding spots from becoming fixed nodes of tension.

Insisting that "very few" people successfully sneak across to Britain, Collomb said, "if you want to go to Britain, you shouldn't go to Calais."

Collomb also called for long-term solutions to speed up asylum decisions and deport economic migrants with no right to refugee status.

Tensions have been high in Calais since the camp was destroyed. More than 1,130 French security forces have been posted in Calais to keep migrants out of the port and Eurotunnel and to stop them from setting up camps.

Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.</s>At least four Eritrean refugees are in critical condition after being shot during a mass brawl between some 130 Afghans and Eritreans in the northern French city of Calais, local media outlets reported.

The fighting started while volunteers were handing out food to refugees, but later spread to a number of locations in the city, according to the Le Monde newspaper.

Officials said a further 22 people suffered wounds, including two police officers trying to break up the fighting, which involved more than a hundred Eritreans and around 20 Afghans.

Speaking to police officers on Thursday evening, French Interior Minister Gerrard Collomb described the violence as “exceptionally serious” and promised that those responsible would be punished.

Collomb also ordered the deployment of more police officers to the area to avoid a repeat of the events.

Calais was home to the unofficial “jungle” refugee camp, which housed thousands of refugees in tents, until French authorities demolished it in October 2016.

The city and neighbouring areas drew refugees and migrants from around the world due to its proximity to England, which lies at the other end of a 25-mile stretch of sea.

Many of those who had lived in the jungle moved to other areas of France but others remained in the hope of making their way on to trucks and boats heading towards the UK.

According to local authorities, up to 800 refugees and migrants remain in Calais.

The wider Calais region has experienced previous incidents of violence, including clashes between rival human trafficking gangs.

Mass brawls between refugees have also broken out occasionally.</s>Five people have been shot in violent clashes between groups of migrants in Calais.

Police reinforcements arrived in the French port city on Friday amid warnings of growing tensions between those converging on the area in the hope of crossing to Britain

Twenty two people were injured in the fighting which the French interior minister Gérard Collomb blamed on "orgnaised" gangs.

Authorities said Afghan and Eritrean migrants had been fighting with sticks and stones after a meal distribution before the shots were fired. Firearms are rare among migrants.</s>French police reinforcements have been sent to Calais after clashes among migrants left 22 people injured during a worrying spike in violence.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters in Calais that five of the victims were injured by gunfire in Thursday’s fighting, blaming “totally organised” gangs.

Police are seeking a shooting suspect but have made no arrests.

Mr Collomb said two extra police units were en route and warned of growing tensions in Calais, where migrants converge in the hope of crossing to Britain.

Authorities said that Afghan and Eritrean migrants had been fighting with sticks and stones after a meals were distributed before the shots were fired. Firearms are rare among migrants.

The government closed a vast Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle in 2016.</s>Four teenagers were shot Thursday amid fights between groups of Afghan and Eritrean migrants in the northern port city of Calais, the French government said.

Three of the gunshot victims were in critical condition.

The violence broke out as migrants were waiting in line for food. Police ultimately stepped in to protect a score of Afghan migrants facing as many as 200 Eritreans, authorities in the area said.

The combatants used sticks, stones and steel pipes and it remained unclear who fired the shots.

France's interior minister, Gerard Collomb, announced that he would travel to Calais, which has become a way station for migrants trying to reach Britain.

"After today's serious incidents I shall be heading for Calais tonight to take stock of the situation with the prefect, the mayor and local players," Collomb wrote on Twitter.

A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death in August during a fight among migrants in Calais, once the site of a camp known as the Jungle that housed some 10,000 migrants, principally from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan.

French authorities dismantled the camp in October 2016, but anywhere from 550 to 800 migrants remain in Calais, according to estimates by officials and charities.</s>Police reinforcements are arriving in the French port city of Calais after clashes among migrants left 22 people injured, as the interior minister warned of a worrying spike in violence.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters in Calais on Friday that five of the victims were injured by gunfire in Thursday's fighting, blaming "totally organized" gangs. Police are seeking a shooting suspect but have made no arrests.

Collomb said two extra police units were en route and warned of growing tensions in Calais, where migrants converge in hopes of crossing to Britain.

Authorities said that Afghan and Eritrean migrants had been fighting with sticks and stones after a meal distribution before the shots were fired. Firearms are rare among migrants.
5 people are shot and 17 others sustain injuries during mass fighting between Afghan and Eritrean migrant groups in Calais, France. A 37-year old Afghan man is suspected of having critically wounded four Eritrean teenagers at a queue for food handouts.