Illegal immigrant stabbed in prison riot

A 40-year-old suspected illegal immigrant was stabbed in a riot involving 300 inmates at a remote detention centre, the Australian government said today, the latest violence at such a centre.

A 40-year-old suspected illegal immigrant was stabbed in a riot involving 300 inmates at a remote detention centre, the Australian government said today, the latest violence at such a centre.

"Detainees used branches broken from trees and fixtures such as towel rails, inserts from blinds and slats from bench seats as weapons during the conflict," the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs said in a statement.

Security staff at the Curtin Detention Centre in northwest Australia battled for 40 minutes on Saturday night to control the fighting, which was blamed on "cultural differences" among the detainees. The ministry did not elaborate.

The stabbing victim was treated in hospital and released late on Sunday. Several other detainees suffered minor injuries.

West Australian police have interviewed a 23-year-old inmate in connection with the stabbing, but had not filed charges.

Earlier this month, a policeman was injured during a violent riot at another West Australian detention center and last year inmates went on a rampage in a southern Australian centre, torching buildings and smashing property.

Immigrants caught trying to enter Australia illegally are incarcerated until their asylum applications are processed. Inmates and refugee support groups have increasingly complained about conditions at the centres.

Thousands of suspected illegal immigrants have tried to enter the country in recent years, often making dangerous voyages in ramshackle boats from Indonesia to sparsely populated northwest Australia.