VIOLENCE flared on Nauru as hundreds of asylum seekers sought to break out of the detention facility yesterday afternoon.… The Nauruan government said the situation was under control at 10pm but that several buildings had been destroyed. Damage surveyed last night included large sections of new sleeping accommodation, which costs tens of millions of dollars to build, destroyed by fire… Around around 300 of the 500 detainees are said to have escaped. A Nauruan MP earlier took to state television to call for big, strong men to head to the processing camp as Nauruan riot police were overwhelmed. Hundreds of civilians responded to their leaders’ call and there have been reports that a bus carrying detention inmates away had been attacked. Three interpreters and three medical staff were reportedly held for an hour before being released but it was unclear if they had been injured… Australian Immigration and Citizenship Department spokesman Sandi Logan denied the violence had anything to do with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s announcement of a “PNG solution”.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 00:57:26 +0000
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