Lampedusa, Italy - Around 100 Tunisians protesting expulsion orders served against them by Italian authorities, clashed Wednesday with police and started fires at an immigrant detention centre on the island of Lampedusa.

Several people were injured in the disturbances, with some receiving medical treatment after inhaling fumes from the fires, the ANSA news agency reported.

Relative calm had returned by mid-afternoon, police said.

Lampedusa hosts a detention centre which recently became overcrowded following Interior Minister Roberto Maroni's decision to seek the immediate repatriation of illegal immigrants rather than transfer them to facilities elsewhere in Italy.

The Mediterranean islet which lies some 113 kilometres from Tunisia and some 205 kilometres from Sicily has recently experienced a surge in immigrants trying to reach Italy illegally by sea.

Lampedusa's inhabitants have repeatedly protested against what they say is the transformation of their island into an immigrant holding camp.

"What we need is the direct intervention of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the removal of Maroni from his position," Lampedusa Mayor Dino De Rubeis said following Wednesday's clashes.

"There's the risk of a catastrophe involving the immigrants, the people who work at the centre and the island's inhabitants," De Rubeis said. dpa