Chinese detainees attempt suicide

Thirteen Chinese nationals were undergoing treatment Saturday after slashing their wrists and other body parts at a Sydney detention centre.

A 41-year-old woman appeared to be the most seriously injured. A refugee advocate told the Sun-Herald newspaper she cut her wrists.

Another woman, 51, was also taken to hospital with heart problems. She fainted after witnessing the suicide attempt.

In another section of Villawood, 12 Chinese men cut themselves in what's been described as an act of solidarity with the woman.

The self-mutilation protest came a day after the Australian government announced it would change its immigration detention policy, allowing families with children to be released into the community and a review of all detainee cases after two years.

Refugee advocate Jamal Daoud told the Age newspaper the group was distressed that the government's softening of its detention policy would not set them free.

Sydney Uniting Church refugee advocate Frances Milne, who visits the Villawood centre weekly, says all the detainees are in a high state of anxiety.

The immigration department has confirmed that 25 Chinese detainees at Villawood, and another group at the Baxter centre in South Australia, were separated from other detainees last month and interviewed by Chinese officials.

The department would not say whether Saturday's incident at Villawood was connected.