Asylum seekers set fire to lock-up

A REVOLT by desperate refugees on the rocky Italian island of Lampedusa has been quelled by tear gas, leaving the centre severely damaged and sending 24 inmates and police to hospital with burns and injuries.

The centre, recently transformed by the Government from a temporary assessment point for medical and social aid to a permanent holding facility, was built for 800 new arrivals but often houses double that number and more.

The Mayor of Lampedusa, Bernardino de Rubeis, said the immigrants were at the end of their tether and the decision to turn the island into "the Alcatraz of the Mediterranean" had begun to take its toll.

"The immigrants are exasperated; they have had enough," he said.

The outbreak began during a meal when a group of Tunisian men accepted food, breaking a pact for a hunger strike that started the day before. When police and centre staff attempted to break up the scuffle, the men turned on the centre, ripping up toilets, removing doors and smashing tables and furniture.

Inmates also set fire to the walls of several buildings, which became engulfed in 10-metre flames within minutes. The walls are made of a light material, Isopam, which is highly flammable.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has called for an immediate evacuation of the inmates but Italian authorities are now attempting to expedite the expulsion and deportation of the 800 or so immigrants in the centre while it assesses the damage.

The centre was not created as a prison and was known until recently as "centro de accoglimento", or welcome centre, built simply to house, clothe and feed those who arrive by sea, often hungry and thirsty after many days in small boats.

Arrivals have been provided with medical aid and information on their legal status and, once rested, transferred to Sicily or the mainland for processing.

OF COURSE THEY JUST HAPPEN TO BE MOONERS