Refugees held by Australia in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have launched legal action over the closure of a detention centre.
Australia holds asylum seekers arriving by boat in camps on PNG’s Manus Island and the small Pacific nation of Nauru.
The Manus Island centre is scheduled to close on Tuesday after a PNG court ruled it was unconstitutional.
Detainees argue the closure will breach their human rights by denying them access to water, electricity and security. Many are refusing to leave.
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The local authorities said that all electricity, drinking water and food at the centre would cease at 17:00 local time (07:00 GMT), and that PNG defence authorities could enter the centre as early as Wednesday.
Refugees told the BBC that detainees planned to protest peacefully, and had begun stockpiling water and dry biscuits, as well as setting up makeshift catchments for rainwater.
They claimed that local residents began looting the compound on Tuesday after security guards left.
Under a controversial policy, Australia refuses to take in anyone trying to reach its territories unofficially by boat. They are all intercepted and held in the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres.
Why don’t refugees want to leave?
About 600 asylum seekers have been told to leave the camp, but many have reportedly barricaded themselves inside due to fears for their safety if transferred to temporary accommodation in the Manus Island community.
The news has raised concerns of a possible siege at the facility.
“Navy and police [are] heavily armed, but we don’t know who they want to go to war with, locals or refugees. So scary,” tweeted Manus detainee Behrouz Boochani.
Mr Boochani added that “angry” locals were protesting in front of the camp chanting “don’t come out”.
Last week, Human Rights Watch warned that the group could face “unchecked violence” by local people who had attacked them in the past – sometimes with machetes and rocks.
Where would they go?
Canberra has consistently ruled out transferring the men to Australia, arguing it would encourage human trafficking and lead to deaths at sea.
However, PNG has said it is Australia’s responsibility to provide ongoing support for the detainees. The Australian government says PNG is responsible for them.
The refugees can permanently resettle in PNG, apply to live in Cambodia, or request a transfer to Nauru, but advocates say few have taken up these options.
Some men already in the temporary accommodation were “comfortably accessing services and supports there”, Australia’s Department for Immigration and Border Protection said on Tuesday.