In an account of the violence obtained by Fairfax Media, an Iranian asylum seeker said two detainees were blinded, one had his eye ''removed'' and one machete attack victim was ''cut so badly all around his neck like they meant to cut his head off''. Asylum seeker Reza Barati, who was killed in the Manus Island violence. Credit:Kate Geraghty Manus Island provincial police commander Alex N'Drasal said on Thursday that he hoped soon to arrest three to four men and charge them with murder. ''Hopefully either this week or early next week, we are going to make arrests,'' he said. ''We are looking at three to four guys to be arrested and charged. We'll probably charge them with murder.'' He declined to say who the men were, including whether they were locals or foreigners, or whether they were local staff at the centre. Mr N'Drasal said he believed most local staff were back at work, including security staff - a direct contradiction of statements made by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Asked whether this included the three to four suspects, Mr N'Drasal said he was not certain but added: ''I believe they are still there working.''

He said he had given instructions that none of the detention centre staff should leave Manus Island while the police investigation was running and therefore it was proper that they should continue working. Illustration: Ron Tandberg. Mr Morrison said through his spokeswoman: ''I am advised there are no locally engaged staff deployed as security officers within any of the compounds.'' Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said letting workers who were involved in the violence back into the centre was a ''recipe for disaster''. A recording of the Iranian detainee's statement - made on Tuesday - along with an English translation, described disturbing new details about the incident. The material was provided to Fairfax Media by Senator Hanson-Young and by a second, independent source.

The detainee said other detainees saw the alleged killer ''a few days ago behind the external fence making gestures that we will cut your throat and kill you''. He said machetes and guns had been used in the clashes and that ''people were attacked in their beds and their heads were cut open'', leaving ''blood on closets, pillows and walls''. He told of one detainee who was being carried to safety by an Australian guard when he was hit on the head with a wooden pole by a PNG guard. ''As he lifted his head up to look, the PNG guard recognised him as a friend who had been giving him his cigarettes every day. He was shocked and said, 'Sorry, sorry, my friend.' This story has become one of the jokes currently in the camp - 'Sorry, sorry, my friend'.'' Senator Hanson-Young said: ''It's clear from seeing this conversation that [inside the camp] the refugees' safety simply cannot be guaranteed.''

She said the only ''decent and humane'' thing to do was to bring the detainees to Australia. Loading With Michael Gordon and Rory Callinan Follow us on Twitter

