Army called in to evict Manus Island refugees after police failed to evict them

PNG, (Daily Mail), 23 Nov 2017 -  The Papua New Guinea army has been brought in to help police evict hundreds of asylum seekers who are refusing to leave the Manus Island detention centre.   

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton confirmed a PNG police operation is underway to remove those remaining in the mothballed facility.   

Several asylum seekers have taken to Twitter describing high tension in the centre on Thursday where about 400 men have been refusing to leave.   

The operation comes after twelve former Australians of the Year penned an open letter asking Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to immediately allow doctors access to asylum seekers in the facility.