Camps affected (government figures)

Woomera, near Adelaide - at least 180 on hunger strike Maribyrnong, near Melbourne - 27 on sixth day of strike Curtin W. Australia - 3 people on second day Port Hedland W. Australia - 17 strikers

The figure contrasted with that issued by immigration department officials. They said only 181 detainees were on hunger strike, of whom 35 have sewn their lips together.

At the Port Hedland centre in Western Australia, an immigration department spokesman said 17 detainees had started a hunger strike, bringing to four out of six the number of asylum camps affected.

The asylum seekers are upset at delays in processing their asylum claims and at the conditions in which they are being held.

Children

At Woomera, three children were taken to hospital overnight for monitoring. Some of the strikers are reported to have tried to kill themselves and swallowed dangerous substances.

A man who was injured by razor wire trying to escape on Saturday is under observation in hospital, immigration officials said.

The government has so far refused to back down from its policy of holding asylum seekers in detention camps while their claims are assessed.

The protesters are angry that the detention centres are so isolated, and that it takes months and sometimes years for their cases to be finalised.

This is not moral blackmail

Paul Boylan, refugee lawyer

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard has called the protests "moral blackmail".

Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock said: "They have come to a view that they might be able to influence us by continuing with this hunger strike. That will not happen - let me be very clear about that."

A lawyer for the refugees, Paul Boylan, said the protesters were angry because each was being kept "like an animal in a cage".

"This is not moral blackmail, this is the only way they have to get their point across," he said.

No deal

The government has lifted a freeze on the processing of claims from Afghan detainees in a move aimed at easing the growing tension inside Woomera, a remote camp in the southern Australian desert.

Ruddock: Detainees will not influence policy

The authorities also released about 20 Woomera detainees after their refugee claims were accepted.

But the inmates say the moves do not go far enough.

They want to be transfered to another facility that is less isolated, and where conditions are better.

Babak Ahmadi, a geologist from Iran who has been released after 20 months in Woomera, asked: "How can a person sit in detention in the middle of the desert for two years?

"Our emotions are crushed. Most people are mentally sick."

UN pressure

The UN refugee agency repeated on Friday that it is strongly opposed to Australia's detention of refugees.

"This whole mess... illustrates the dangers and pitfalls of detaining asylum seekers," said Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was re-elected last year after acting firmly against groups of mainly Afghan asylum-seekers.

He says releasing detainees to live in the community would only encourage more asylum seekers to come to Australia.

Every year Australia takes in 10,000 refugees who are formally resettled by the United Nations and another 50,000 permanent migrants, mainly from Britain and New Zealand.