Asylum seekers sew mouths shut in hunger strike at detention centre in Papua New Guinea

Hundreds of asylum seekers have gone on hunger strike at an Australian immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea, rights groups said yesterday, with some sewing their lips shut to highlight fears for their security.

Australia uses offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru to process the would-be refugees trying to reach the country, often in unsafe boats after paying people smugglers in Indonesia.

The detention centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea was the scene of deadly riots in February last year, in which one asylum seeker was killed and more than 70 injured after the residents overran the camp.

The latest protests began after detainees were told they would be moved into new accommodation, which they feared would make them more vulnerable to attack, said Ian Rintoul, the executive director of the Refugee Action Coalition.

"Things have just come to a head. It's impossible to exaggerate the real fears that people have for their safety and for their lives," he said.

Manus Island is one of the poorest regions of Papua New Guinea, and residents have repeatedly expressed anger at the prospect of refugees being resettled in a community already lacking enough jobs.

Many of the detainees have been in the camps as long as 18 months, and a technical problem has left them without running water for bathing.