At least five asylum seekers escaped from Australia's Woomera detention centre today after about 1,000 pro-refugee demonstrators stormed the gates and clashed with police, the protesters said.
They said police were rounding up the escaped asylum seekers at Woomera in outback Australia, where protesters have been gathering as part of an Easter weekend rally against the mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
A spokeswoman for No One is Illegal, one of about 20 groups involved in the protest, said about 1,000 demonstrators overpowered security guards as night fell and stormed through wire fencing surrounding Woomera, which houses about 400 asylum seekers.
Chanting "Freedom," the protesters were met in the camp's inner compound by a large group of the mostly Middle Eastern and Afghan detainees, who tore down a remaining fence to escape.
Several protesters were hurt in the incident and at least one was taken away by ambulance, she said.
A spokesman for the Australian Protective Service (APS), which is responsible for the security of the site, and a spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock declined to comment on the incident, saying conflicting reports were still coming in.
At least 2,000 demonstrators are expected to be on the scene by Sunday.
Refugee supporters have targeted the Easter weekend to protest against Australia's policy of detaining all illegal immigrants while their refugee claims are heard, a process that takes months or even years.
Some 1,700 mostly Middle Eastern and Afghan boat people are detained in several Australian camps, which have been plagued by riots, hunger strikes and suicide attempts since January.
The policy of mandatory detention has broad public and bipartisan political support in Australia and the conservative government's tough stand against illegal immigration was seen as a key factor in its third-term election victory in November.
Australia accepts more than 10,000 UN-approved refugees for resettlement each year but since 1994 has detained illegal immigrants in camps while their asylum claims are processed in an effort to discourage human trafficking.