France demanded on Friday that Britain take in hundreds of minors from war-torn countries after the British interior minister suggested that Paris should do more for them following the closure of the &quot;Jungle&quot; migrant camp in the northern French port city of Calais.

Bulldozers are flattening the sprawl of ramshackle huts and tents which had been home to about 6,000 refugees and migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa hoping to cross the English Channel and start new lives in Britain.

Most have now been bussed to other centres across France pending examination of their cases. But the plight of hundreds of minors roaming the area, nearly 1,500 of whom have signed up for temporary lodging in container-boxes in Calais, has become a point of dispute.

British Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Amber Rudd told her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve on Friday that his government must guarantee the protection of youngsters left in limbo after the evacuation of the &quot;Jungle&quot;.

&quot;Any child either eligible or not in the secure area of the camp should be cared for and safeguarded by the French authorities. We understand that specialist facilities have been made available elsewhere in France to ensure this happens,&quot; Rudd&#39;s spokesman quoted her as saying.

Cazeneuve replied that Britain should &quot;quickly execute its responsibilities to take in these minors, who hope to come to the United Kingdom. This is the best way to give them the protection they are due,&quot; he said.

The head of France&#39;s Ofpra refugee agency, Pascal Brice, put it more bluntly. &quot;We&#39;ve done Britain&#39;s work in tending to the adults,&quot; he told Reuters. &quot;The least they can do is take care of the isolated minors who are now at the CAP (temporary lodgings) and who have an interest in going to Britain.&quot;

French government officials in the region say that 1,451 minors are in the container-box lodgings. Britain has so far accepted 274 children from among this group, France says. European Union rules say Britain must take in unaccompanied children who have family ties there. An amendment to those rules adopted in Britain this year states that such minors whose best interests are served by doing so should also be admitted.

&nbsp;

DEBRIS

Aid groups say hundreds if not thousands more adults and minors may have fled into the hinterland around the &quot;Jungle&quot;, ready to return when the heavy police presence wanes. Smoke and dust floated over the heart of the site on Friday, as bulldozers cleared mounds of debris and rubbish, watched from afar by a group of youngsters who had slept outdoors in an area that once serve as a school for camp-dwellers. Charity workers gave them food on Friday.

Abdul Hadi, an Afghan youth who gave his age as 16, said he spent 10 months in the &ldquo;Jungle&rdquo; but failed to register with the French authorities for help when the evacuation on Monday. &quot;I hope I can get to the UK this week,&quot; he said.

Serge Szarzynski, head of social affairs in the Calais area, told Reuters a solution would be found for Hadi and the youths with him.

(Reuters)

The French reacted to the British interior minister's suggestion that more could be done to shelter the at-risk minors

France demanded on Friday that Britain take in hundreds of minors from war-torn countries after the British interior minister suggested that Paris should do more for them following the closure of the "Jungle" migrant camp in the northern French port city of Calais. Bulldozers are flattening the sprawl of ramshackle huts and tents which had been home to about 6,000 refugees and migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa hoping to cross the English Channel and start new lives in Britain. Most have now been bussed to other centres across France pending examination of their cases. But the plight of hundreds of minors roaming the area, nearly 1,500 of whom have signed up for temporary lodging in container-boxes in Calais, has become a point of dispute. British Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Amber Rudd told her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve on Friday that his government must guarantee the protection of youngsters left in limbo after the evacuation of the "Jungle". "Any child either eligible or not in the secure area of the camp should be cared for and safeguarded by the French authorities. We understand that specialist facilities have been made available elsewhere in France to ensure this happens," Rudd's spokesman quoted her as saying. Cazeneuve replied that Britain should "quickly execute its responsibilities to take in these minors, who hope to come to the United Kingdom. This is the best way to give them the protection they are due," he said. The head of France's Ofpra refugee agency, Pascal Brice, put it more bluntly. "We've done Britain's work in tending to the adults," he told Reuters. "The least they can do is take care of the isolated minors who are now at the CAP (temporary lodgings) and who have an interest in going to Britain." French government officials in the region say that 1,451 minors are in the container-box lodgings. Britain has so far accepted 274 children from among this group, France says. European Union rules say Britain must take in unaccompanied children who have family ties there. An amendment to those rules adopted in Britain this year states that such minors whose best interests are served by doing so should also be admitted. DEBRIS Aid groups say hundreds if not thousands more adults and minors may have fled into the hinterland around the "Jungle", ready to return when the heavy police presence wanes. Smoke and dust floated over the heart of the site on Friday, as bulldozers cleared mounds of debris and rubbish, watched from afar by a group of youngsters who had slept outdoors in an area that once serve as a school for camp-dwellers. Charity workers gave them food on Friday. Abdul Hadi, an Afghan youth who gave his age as 16, said he spent 10 months in the “Jungle” but failed to register with the French authorities for help when the evacuation on Monday. "I hope I can get to the UK this week," he said. Serge Szarzynski, head of social affairs in the Calais area, told Reuters a solution would be found for Hadi and the youths with him. (Reuters)

France says Britain can keep at-risk kids from Calais 'Jungle' camp

Migrants began arriving early Monday at official meeting points set by French authorities as part of the full evacuation and demolition of the&nbsp;Calais&nbsp;&quot;jungle&quot; refugee camp, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Men and women carrying suitcases and bundles of possessions gathered in front of a warehouse which is serving as the main headquarters of the operation, in&nbsp;which some 6,000 to 8,000 migrants will be moved to reception centres across the country.

It will allow the closure of the Calais &quot;jungle&quot;, the largest shanty town in France,&nbsp;which&nbsp;over the last 18 months has&nbsp;filled up with about 7,000 refugees &mdash;&nbsp;mostly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea &mdash;&nbsp;seeking to cross the Channel to get to Britain. Unofficial estimates from September said about&nbsp;10,000 lived in the &quot;jungle&quot;.

The closure of the squalid camp is aimed at relieving tensions in the&nbsp;Calais&nbsp;area, where clashes between police and migrants trying to climb onto trucks heading to Britain are an almost nightly occurrence.

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French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse migrants throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp. October 23, 2016 in Calais, France. (Getty)
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There is a federal&nbsp;election in France in May of 2017, and how to deal with the Calais Jungle is a contentious issue.&nbsp;France&#39;s government has billed the enormous operation to clear the camp as &quot;humanitarian&quot;. But there were&nbsp;confrontations&nbsp;this weekend between riot police armed with tear gas and groups of refugees throwing stones, who do not want to be relocated in France because they still intend on reaching Britain.

The BBC reports that the UK has begun to accept some of the nearly 1,300 unaccompanied children from the camp.&nbsp;Sky News reports that in July, the charity Citizens UK gave the British government a list with the names of 178 minors on it, all who have family in the UK. Under the law, they are entitled to be reunited with their family.

Identifying the camp inhabitants can be very difficult. Since many seek the protection afforded to youth, they are incentivised to lie about their age&nbsp;and say they&#39;re younger than they are. Also, many&nbsp;may&nbsp;official identification, making it impossible to say for sure who or how old they are.

Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw.

Around 1,250 police and security officials have been mobilised.

In February, the southern half of the &quot;jungle&quot; was demolished, as the government hoped it would help disperse residents to&nbsp;the remaining inhabitants to other camps in France. While some did,&nbsp;many simply moved north,&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;the already dense population&nbsp;of the Calais camp.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The operation aims to move 6,000 to 8,000 migrants to various temporary accommodation centres across the country

Migrants began arriving early Monday at official meeting points set by French authorities as part of the full evacuation and demolition of the Calais "jungle" refugee camp, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Men and women carrying suitcases and bundles of possessions gathered in front of a warehouse which is serving as the main headquarters of the operation, in which some 6,000 to 8,000 migrants will be moved to reception centres across the country. It will allow the closure of the Calais "jungle", the largest shanty town in France, which over the last 18 months has filled up with about 7,000 refugees — mostly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea — seeking to cross the Channel to get to Britain. Unofficial estimates from September said about 10,000 lived in the "jungle". The closure of the squalid camp is aimed at relieving tensions in the Calais area, where clashes between police and migrants trying to climb onto trucks heading to Britain are an almost nightly occurrence. French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse migrants throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp. October 23, 2016 in Calais, France. (Getty) × There is a federal election in France in May of 2017, and how to deal with the Calais Jungle is a contentious issue. France's government has billed the enormous operation to clear the camp as "humanitarian". But there were confrontations this weekend between riot police armed with tear gas and groups of refugees throwing stones, who do not want to be relocated in France because they still intend on reaching Britain. The BBC reports that the UK has begun to accept some of the nearly 1,300 unaccompanied children from the camp. Sky News reports that in July, the charity Citizens UK gave the British government a list with the names of 178 minors on it, all who have family in the UK. Under the law, they are entitled to be reunited with their family. Identifying the camp inhabitants can be very difficult. Since many seek the protection afforded to youth, they are incentivised to lie about their age and say they're younger than they are. Also, many may official identification, making it impossible to say for sure who or how old they are. Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw. Around 1,250 police and security officials have been mobilised. In February, the southern half of the "jungle" was demolished, as the government hoped it would help disperse residents to the remaining inhabitants to other camps in France. While some did, many simply moved north, increasing the already dense population of the Calais camp. (WION with inputs from agencies)

France starts clearing Calais 'jungle' migrant camp

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France says Britain can keep at-risk kids from Calais 'Jungle' camp

France starts clearing Calais 'jungle' migrant camp