Hundreds of asylum-seekers and would-be immigrants burst out of an Italian reception centre on the island of Lampedusa yesterday and marched to the town hall, a day after the UN criticised conditions at the camp.

Police said the group forced open the gates of the camp and marched peacefully to the town centre to protest against their detention. They were joined by a few hundred locals who also want the inmates transferred to bigger camps elsewhere in Italy.

But the interior ministry said there had been "no escape of illegal immigrants" because it was a camp for assistance rather than expulsion, "so there is no obligation to stay there". Many were already returning to the camp, it said in a statement.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a rare criticism of Italy on Friday, expressing concern about the camp where Italy holds people picked up or rescued trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa in small boats.

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