Refugees refuse to leave PNG detention camps

Hundreds of asylum-seekers were refusing to leave an Australian detention camp in Papua New Guinea that authorities closed yesterday, citing fears for their safety, despite food, water and electricity being cut off.

Staff have abandoned the camp on Manus Island, and one resident said detainees had locked themselves in because they were terrified of what could happen to them outside its gates.

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The standoff is the latest development in a long-running and bitter dispute over Australia's controversial off-shore detention policy.

Asylum seekers who try to reach the country by boat are sent to two remote Pacific processing centres -- PNG's Manus Island and Nauru.

They are barred from settling in Australia, even if they are ultimately found to have a legitimate case for asylum.

Canberra says the policy is designed to discourage people from attempting the risky journey by sea.

Human rights groups have been campaigning for years to have Manus shut down, amid reports of widespread abuse, self-harm and mental health problems.

The Australian government agreed to close the Manus facility by the end of October after the PNG Supreme Court ruled last year that holding people there was unconstitutional.

More than 600 men housed in the camp have been told to move to three transition centres on Manus. The present site is to be handed over the PNG military.

But many men have locked themselves in the centre.

"Refugees adamant they won't leave detention. They are afraid but refuse to leave," one Manus detainee, an Iranian called Behrouz Boochani, tweeted yesterday.

He added that detainees had locked the camp's main gate to protect themselves.

Detainees told Fairfax Media earlier yesterday that locals had started to loot equipment from the camp as PNG authorities looked on.

Others told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation they were storing water in wheelie bins to sustain themselves.