The Manus Island detention centre will be closed by the end of the year, Malcolm Turnbull has vowed.
The Prime Minister confirmed the closure during a joint press conference with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in Port Moresby on Saturday.
The announcement leaves the fate of more than 850 asylum seekers on the island hanging in the balance.
A number of refugees in limbo on Manus Island are expected to be resettled in the US, along with others stuck on Nauru.
There were 861 men living at the centre as of late January, according to the most recent statistics from Australia’s immigration department.
US Homeland Security officials are expected to travel to PNG to conduct fingerprinting and security interviews in April and May.
But both leaders were tight-lipped on the fate of those who won’t be selected to move to America.
Source: Manus Island will close by end of the year | Daily Mail Online
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