Tensions rise as Australia starts to dismantle Papua New Guinea detention center

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian private security vacated an asylum seeker detention center in Papua New Guinea (PNG) ahead of its planned closure on Tuesday, detainees said, leaving 600-odd refugees and asylum seekers barricaded inside and refusing to move.

Detainees are defying attempts by Australia and PNG to close the controversial Manus Island Centre, where water and electricity are scheduled to be shut off at 5pm local time (0700 GMT), saying they fear violent reprisals from the local community if they move to a transit center.

Refugee advocates hold banners and placards during a protest outside the Commonwealth parliament offices in Sydney, Australia, October 31, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray

The Manus center has been a key plank of Australia’s controversial “Sovereign Borders” immigration policy. The country refuses to allow asylum seekers arriving by boat to reach its shores, detaining them in camps in PNG and Nauru in the South Pacific.

Lawyers for some of the 600 men have filed a last-minute lawsuit in PNG seeking an injunction to prevent the camp’s closure and the relocation of the men to a third country.

Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz told Reuters the camp staff all left on Tuesday morning, leaving the detainees alone for the first time in more than four years.

“The water and electricity are still on but we are vulnerable now after the staff left us all alone,” Aziz said.