Tear gas used to quell Aus migrant centre unrest

Australian police used tear gas to put down a two-day riot at a migrant detention centre today, where detainees, reportedly armed with machetes and petrol bombs, were running amok.  Reinforcements were sent to the remote Christmas Island facility after violence erupted and fires were set in a protest triggered late Sunday by the unexplained death of a man.

“The department can confirm all areas of the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Facility are under effective control of service providers and department staff,” the Immigration Department said. Five detainees were being treated for non-life threatening injuries, while Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the damage bill would be well over Aus dollar 1 million.