Australian police used teargas and water cannon today to quell a riot at one of Australia's controversial detention centres for illegal immigrants as tension rises over the government's hard line against asylum seekers.
The riot flared up at the Woomera detention centre in outback South Australia as about 350 refugee activists protested outside the camp about the government turning away five boats carrying asylum seekers over the past month.
Several hundred detainees gathered at the centre's perimeter and on roofs to support the demonstration by members of the Refugee Action Collective.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock defended the use of teargas and water cannon to control what he described as a very severe riot in which three detention officers were injured.
If people who are part of that group seek to escape, reasonable steps have to be taken to ensure the detention regime is maintained, Ruddock told reporters.
Refugee Action Collective spokesman Mr Ian Rintoul said protesters saw the detainees sprayed with water cannon and police enter wearing riot gear.
The riot was the latest in a string of violence and escapes by asylum seekers protesting against conditions in detention camps and the time taken to process applications for refugee status.
Australia has one of the world's strictest policies for dealing with asylum seekers who arrive illegally, detaining them in six privately run detention camps dotted around the country while their applications are assessed - a process which can take years.
Over the past month Australia's conservative government has toughened its stance against illegal arrivals even further, boosting navy patrols to intercept boats before they reach Australia and turn them around.