Footage has emerged of migrants chasing away apparently armed refugees, who were trying to rob a journalist in the Calais Jungle camp of northern France.
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The footage shows three refugees tackling Dutch photographer Teun Voeten on top of a tent then apparently trying to take his camera.
"I've done a lot of work in war zones and crime-ridden areas around the world, so I wasn't surprised about the mugging," told The Local.
"But it wasn't a pleasant moment."
At one point in the video, an attacker brandishes what appears to be a large knife.
See the footage below.
As the refugees tussle with Voeten, he yells for help and manages to frighten away the trio, who briefly turn on the camerawoman, Maaike Engels.
"She reacted very well, she filmed it and when he came at her with the knife she just kicked him," Voeten said.
The thieves only managed to get away with Voeten's notebook, which they threw away as they fled.
The footage ends with the men escaping, while several other migrants give chase and throw rocks at the thieves.
"They came to our rescue, they scared the thieves away," Voeten told The Local, adding that the attack marked the first knifepoint robbery in the Jungle, as far as he had heard.
teun voeten @teunvoeten
Nearly #mugged by #Calais jungle #migrants while shooting with @MaaikeEngels1 Other #refugees came to the rescue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26TcZorLdok&feature=share …
11:54 PM - 16 Jan 2016
YouTube @YouTube
The footage has since made the rounds online, attracting over 400,000 views on YouTube after it was published on Saturday. It has also attracted the attention of right-wing commenters, who used it as an argument about the dangers of refugees.
But Voeten and his camerawoman stand by their decision to share it, even if it fuels racial intolerance.
"We don't have any regrets about publishing it," Voeten said.
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