A camp in Papua New Guinea housing refugees and asylum seekers, sent there under Australia's harsh immigration policy, was on fire Friday after a man set himself alight amid growing despair among residents, advocates said.
Hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers are held in processing camps on the remote islands of Nauru and Papua New Guinea after attempting to reach Australia by sea, with rights groups criticising the facilities' conditions.
Refugee advocates said there has been a spike in self-harm and suicide attempts on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, after the centre-left Labor opposition -- which they hoped would treat them more leniently -- failed to win power in May elections.
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said Friday the latest such incident involved a 31-year-old Indian man who set himself on fire, burning his face and hands.
Photos released by Rintoul showed a shipping container at the camp on fire, with people attempting to put out the flames.
Multiple asylum seekers in the camps also posted photos of the blaze.
Australia's Department of Home Affairs said the incident was "being dealt with by PNG authorities." The roughly 500 people left on Manus were left in legal limbo after Australia closed an offshore processing facility there in 2017. They live on three temporary sites, having not been permanently settled.
The incident came as debate raged over a law passed by Australia late last year that would allow those housed in the offshore centres to travel to Australia for medical treatment if the transfers are requested by two or more doctors.
The conservative government is pushing to repeal the law when parliament sits next month in the wake of their election win.
Migrants who try to reach Australia by sea are barred from resettling in Australia.
Those who are recognised as refugees are instead considered for resettlement in the United States under a deal struck by the two governments, although Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said last week that more than 300 people have so far been rejected for transfer.
New Zealand has offered to take some of the refugees, but that offer has been rejected by Australian authorities because Kiwis can travel freely to Australia.
Papua New Guinea has deployed paramilitary police to the encampments on Manus Island "daily" suicide attempts and rising tension there, a senior officer told AFP last month.
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