Caravan migrants announce hunger strike to demand asylum in US

Ten Central American women who are part of the migrant caravan camped on the US-Mexico border announced their hunger strike to pressure the Donald Trump’s administration to allow migrants apply for asylum.

“Since no one is listening to us, we've decided as a women's movement to launch a hunger strike," said Claudia Miranda of Honduras at an improvised press conference in the border city of Tijuana.

A group of migrant women who have announced to begin a hunger strike on Thursday for the United States to speed up the processing of asylum claims, however, did not say how long they planned to maintain their hunger strike, said sources.

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According to reports, thousands of migrants were arrived in Tijuana, a border city in Mexico, in recent weeks, fleeing from poverty and violence in their home countries.

More than 6,000 migrants, who were part of the caravan, camped out on the US-Mexico border hoping to apply for asylum or sneak into the United States, said sources.

Earlier, police unleashed a tear gas to disperse members of a Honduran ‘caravan migrant’ who charged the San Ysidro border crossing and attacked agents with rocks and bottles, said the sources.

Meanwhile, according to Tijuana’s health department, one-third of migrants camped in shelters along the US-Mexico border have been diagnosed with respiratory infections, tuberculosis, chicken-box and other serious health issues raising concerns among Mexican health authorities and international humanitarian organisations.

(With inputs from agencies)