Riots Erupt at Australia Detention Camp

Rioting broke out Monday at Australia’s Christmas Island detention center over the recent death of an asylum-seeker. Security guards had been removed for “safety reasons” while fires burned across the facility, local media reported. The immigration department confirmed in a statement that a “major disturbance” occurred at the center, but said the perimeter was secure. Tensions escalated over the death of Iranian Kurd Fazel Chegeni, who escaped from the center Saturday. Chegeni’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff a day later, according to the Department of Immigration. The cause of his death is still under investigation. A group of Iranian detainees began peaceful protests over Chegeni’s death, but “other detainees took advantage of the situation to engage in property damage and general unrest,” the statement said.