Copenhagen - Danish police fired teargas Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to break through police cordons at an asylum centre, 25 kilometres north of Copenhagen.

Some 20 people, protesting the country's treatment of refugees, were arrested when they tried to slip pass police cordons and tear down a fence around the Sandholm refugee centre, news reports said.

The protest was organized by Shut Down the Camp, a group critical of Danish immigration and asylum policies. The group has criticized the Danish Red Cross, which runs Sandholm, saying it gave a stamp of approval to "racist refugee policies."

Danish Red Cross secretary general Anders Ladekarl rejected the allegations, saying it was "a humanitarian mission to help asylum seekers."

About 200 priests and theological students have signed a petition calling for the closure of the asylum centres.

By late Saturday afternoon most of the protesters were reported to be heading back to the Danish capital.

Some 2,000 asylum seekers are estimated to live in asylum centres around Denmark. The average refugee spends about three-and-a-half years in such a centre, according to Danish daily Politiken. dpa