SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian police fired tear gas, sound and flash weapons and "bean bag" bullets to quell overnight riots at the troubled Christmas Island immigration detention centre.
Immigration authorities said about 50 detainees were involved in the disturbance, which saw fires lit and police threatened with makeshift weapons at the centre, some 2,600 kilometres (1,600 miles) from Australia's mainland.
"(Police) members made a number of attempts to defuse and de-escalate the situation, but these were not successful," a police spokeswoman told AFP Wednesday.
"Members had cause to deploy a range of use of force options, including less-lethal munitions (such as) bean bag rounds, (tear) gas, and sound and flash distraction devices."
"Bean bag" bullets are small cushions filled with lead shot that are fired from a shotgun, designed to temporarily disable targets.
It is the second time in as many months serious riots have rocked the remote centre, which is the cornerstone of Australia's mandatory detention policy for refugees and home to 600 boat arrivals.
Some of the group escaped their compounds but an immigration spokesman said there was "no breach of the perimeter fence" and police had brought the incident under control without any injuries.
One detainee was arrested and another was still staging a rooftop protest, with police remaining on site, the spokesman added.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said computers in the centre's medical clinic were destroyed and said anyone found guilty of crimes in detention could be shipped home under strict new character laws on visas.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard echoed his warnings.
"If you commit a criminal offence it will count against you," Gillard said.
"You don't get any changes to the process and treatment of your claims by misbehaving."
Australia's immigration facilities are under strain from a record influx of boatpeople last year -- almost 6,900 -- and tensions have run high in crowded centres on both Christmas Island and at Villawood, in Sydney.
Up to 100 detainees rioted on the Indian Ocean island last month, and another 250 were involved in violent protests there in March over the slow processing of asylum claims, with some locked up for 18 months or more.
Nine buildings were torched in wild riots the following month at Villawood that involved up to 100 detainees.
Bowen said 30 people had been charged over those disturbances.
Australia's mandatory detention policy has been criticised by human rights groups and the UN's refugee agency, with depression and suicide major concerns.
Refugees are a thorny issue in Australia, despite their relatively small numbers and the fact that many who arrive in leaky boats from Asia have fled strife in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq.
Canberra has announced a controversial refugee swap with Malaysia in a bid to slow the flow of boats, and Bowen said it had been an effective deterrent though the "operational finer details" were still being hammered out.
"We've already seen a substantial reduction in the number of boat arrivals to Australia in recent times," said Bowen.
"I don't say that the announcement of the Malaysia arrangement is entirely responsible for that (but) clearly our very clear message through the region has had some impact."
Boats fell from 134 last year to 28 in the six months to June 30, carrying 1,675 arrivals.
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