Police evict church refugees

Police have evicted about 70 Iraqi and Afghan refugees desperate to enter Britain from a church in Calais, ending a five-day stand-off.

Officers entered the Saint Pierre-Saint Paul church at about 5am and escorted the refugees on to four buses waiting outside. They were being taken to three refugee centres, officials said.

Gilles Gaudiche, of the office of the local prefect in the Pas-de-Calais region, said the operation took place "without incident".

The refugees, claiming they have nowhere to go since the Red Cross Sangatte shelter was closed to new arrivals last week, were given temporary refuge at the church over the weekend.

On Tuesday officials had ordered them to leave the building or face expulsion within 24 hours.

On Wednesday, some refugees threatened to commit suicide if police removed them by force.

The question of what to do with the refugees is the latest episode in a struggle between authorities and refugees who flock to Calais in hopes of sneaking into Britain, where asylum laws are looser than in France.

The Sangatte centre has long served as a stepping stone for illegal immigrants trying to sneak through the Channel Tunnel. Many risk their lives to stow away on freight trains heading through the tunnel to Britain.

France and Britain are planning to close down the centre, and as a first step, they said last week it would stop accepting new refugees. The centre is to be shut permanently in April.