France chases Nigerian migrants from Paris camps

The French government chased some 500 Afghan and Nigerian migrants from camps in central Paris this week.

The migrantswere relocated over poor conditions in the camps and bloody fights among the asylum seekers.

Deputy Paris Mayor For Emergency Housing, Ian Brossat, told Reuters that "there have been abominable conditions in these camps and the government has finally understood that there is no other solution than sheltering them."

According to the clear out operation occurred near Canal Saint Martin.

Asylum requests are open

Buses were seen transporting the migrants to lodgings around the Paris region where they can pursue asylum requests.

A Nigerian identified as James Okafor told Reuters that he fled Nigeria after being attacked.

Okafor said he "will be very happy to leave the camp" because it will help him meet officials who will decide if he can stay in France.

Bloody fights in migrant camps

According to French government official Brossat, there was an incident last month in which two migrants drowned nearby. He also cited the proliferation of bloody fights between rival camp dwellers as reason why the migrant camp in Canal Saint Martin had to be closed.

There has been increased pressure on the French Interior Ministry to close the camps and provide lodging for the migrants.

A smaller camp at Porte de Poissonniere was also cleared out Monday morning.

Reuters reports that Paris police have already cleared out some 28,000 migrants from Paris camps in the past three years, but the arrivals haven't slowed.

France's situation is shared by other European nations seeking to manage the stream of new arrivals from less developed countries.

Migration to Europe from Africa and Asia has slowed since the mass Syrian refugee crisis a few years ago; but the influx remains a steady challenge for Europe.

Losing their lives on the journey to Europe

Africans fleeing their continent to Europe often embark on hazardous trips through Libya and the Mediterranean. Many lose their lives during those trips.

In November of 2017, Italy held a mass funeral for 26 Nigerian women who drowned while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Some reports say the girls were sexually molested before being hurled into sea to drift ashore.

According to the IOM (International Organisation for Migration), more than 160,000 economic migrants and refugees arrived Europe in 2017 through the Mediterranean.

Of this number, the IOM says 3,000 didn't live to tell their stories.

An influx of migrants

345, 544 economic migrants arrived Europe through the same dangerous routes in 2016, according to the IOM.

Every year, Africa sees a chunk of its youthful population fleeing its shores for greener pastures abroad.

More than 70 percent of these African migrants are Nigerians.

On November 18, 2017, hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris during a march against “slavery in Libya”,following a footage aired by CNN.

In the heart-rending footage, young people from sub-Saharan Africa were seen getting sold to buyers for as little as 400 dollars throughout several locations in Libya.

The Nigerian government has been repatriating hundreds of its citizens from Libya since CNN broke the story which depicted horrendous slave conditions in the north African country.