Asylum seekers protest on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, in this picture taken from social media November 6, 2017. Social Media/Handout via REUTERS
November 7, 2017
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court rejected an application on Tuesday to restore water, electricity and food supply to an Australian-run detention center in which nearly 600 men have been barricaded for a week, refusing to move.
The men in the Manus Island facility have defied attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the camp, refusing to move to three transit centers despite having little food or drinking water, and several men needing medical help.
The men have repeatedly said they will not move to the transit camps because they feared local residents may attack them.
The court’s ruling could further prolong the stand-off described last week by the United Nations as a “looming humanitarian crisis”.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Eric Meijer)
