Immigrants rioted at an expulsion centre on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa Tuesday, setting fire to parts of the facility.
Police said the migrants used mattresses and waste paper to start the fire after failing to break down the centre's gates.
One of the buildings in the centre was destroyed, they said.
Two migrants and some 20 police were hurt in the scuffles, police said.
They sustained cuts and bruises and inhaled fumes.
The riot broke out after around 300 Tunisians protested against the expulsion of some 100 compatriots.
Most of the 863 migrants at the centre are Tunisians.
The interior ministry said it would speed up the repatriation of the migrants in the wake of the incident.
The centre has repeatedly seen protests after going over its 850-bed capacity.
It was recently transformed from a holding centre into an expulsion centre.
