Open the border - we're going to the UK! Chanting mob of 200 storm tunnel entrance and pledge they won't be stopped
- Yesterday's incident saw migrants tear down fences and charge past police, before being beaten back with tear gas
- The crowd then regrouped and formed a human barricade and set up camp - blocking the road to the tunnel
- Many were heard chanting: 'Why do you kill us? Why did you kill my sister? We are coming to save our lives'
An
organised mob of 200 migrants charged into the Calais entrance of the
Channel Tunnel early yesterday, chanting ‘open the borders’ and
demanding to be allowed into Britain.
They tore down fences and charged past police, who retaliated by spraying tear gas.
When the migrants were finally beaten back, they regrouped to form a human barricade, blocking the road to the tunnel.
One
migrant, who gave his name only as KD, 27, from the Sudan, said: ‘We
want to go to England. We are 100. We are going to sit in the street.
Tomorrow, we are going to camp in the road.’
Flimsy defence: The mesh fences
surrounding the Calais entrance to the Channel Tunnel are no match for
those desperate to break through
There were also suggestions a hunger strike would be launched.
Sammy,
an Ethiopian lawyer who appeared to be directing the blockade, said the
migrants were becoming increasingly desperate to get to England. She
added: ‘We are all one person. We all have the same idea. We are all
one.’
Sammy,
in near-perfect English, shouted slogans which were repeated in unison
by the crowd. She said: ‘We are humans. We are not animals. We have
rights. Stop the police. Open the borders – just like in Italy.’
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In
later chants, the crowd shouted: ‘Why do you kill us? Why did you kill
my sister? We are coming to save our lives. Why do we live inside the
Jungle? Where are the rights of immigrants?’
Sammy
later screamed that migrants were treated as badly in France as in
Libya.
When an onlooker said lorry drivers were ‘just doing their job’
and should be allowed to pass, several migrants shouted: ‘No one cares
about our jobs. No one care about our sleep.’
For almost four hours, police did not try to move the migrants and a tailback of dozens of freight wagons filled the road.
Organised: Dozens of migrants make their way towards the Tunnel entrance in the early hours of Sunday morning
Orchestrated efforts: The chaotic
scene, witnessed by the Mail, came as police admitted that yesterday’s
attempts to enter Britain were more ‘orchestrated’ than previously
Dawn raid: Migrants scale the security fences in the early hours of Sunday morning, but were later beaten back by tear gas
When
the sun began to rise, more than a dozen specialist officers arrived
dressed in riot gear and sprayed tear gas at the migrants – many of whom
were sleeping in the road. They quickly dispersed.
The
chaotic scene, witnessed by the Mail, came as police admitted that
yesterday’s attempts to enter Britain were more ‘orchestrated’ than
previously. They estimated 400 migrants had tried to enter this country
that night.
The
trouble began in the early hours of Sunday when 200 migrants were yards
from entering the Channel Tunnel on foot after storming down
barricades.
They ran towards the fences, smashing and tearing down the flimsy barriers as they went.
They
were only held back by tear gas. But rather than flee completely, many
began to build camp fires near the tunnel entrance to keep warm.
It
was from there that the plans were made to carry out a protest on the
road. After being sprayed in the face, Mohammed, 25, from Sudan, said:
‘There were 140 of us who said we would go to England together. I will
try again. I want to go to England. I am scared but I will try again
tomorrow.’
Sit-in: French police watch as the crowd of migrants blocks an access road causing a long queue of lorries
Clash in Calais: The trouble began in
the early hours of Sunday when 200 migrants were yards from entering the
Channel Tunnel on foot after storming down barricades
Desperate and tired: A man sleeps in the middle of the road using his bag as a pillow in the early hours of Sunday morning
Barricade: Dozens of men blocked the road to the tunnel after being beaten back by French police with tear gas
Police response: A fleet of French police vans make their way to the chaotic scene in Calais last night
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