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  • February 11, 2025
European statistics suspend Syrian asylum decisions after the fall of Assad

European statistics suspend Syrian asylum decisions after the fall of Assad

The head of the UN refugee agency also warned that “patience and vigilance” are needed on the issue of refugee returns (Getty)

Britain, Germany, France, Italy and several other European countries said on Monday they would freeze all pending asylum applications from Syrians, a day after the president’s ouster. Bashar al-Assad.

While Berlin and other governments said they were monitoring fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged country, Austria signaled it would soon deport refugees to Syria.

Far-right politicians elsewhere made similar demands, including in Germany – home to Europe’s largest Syrian community – at a time when immigration has become a hot topic across the continent.

Alice Weidel, of anti-immigration Alternative for Germanyresponded with disdain to Sunday’s mass rallies by jubilant Syrians celebrating Assad’s downfall.

“Everyone in Germany who celebrates ‘free Syria’ apparently no longer has any reason to flee,” she wrote on X. “They must return to Syria immediately.”

World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief this weekend as rebels stormed into Damascus, ending Assad’s brutal rule and creating new uncertainty.

A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry pointed out that “the fact that the Assad regime has ended unfortunately does not guarantee peaceful developments” in the future.

Germany has hosted almost a million Syrians, most of whom arrived in 2015-2016 under the leadership of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said many Syrian refugees “now finally have the hope of returning to their Syrian homeland,” but warned that “the situation in Syria is currently very unclear.”

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions on ongoing asylum procedures “until the situation is clearer”.

She added that “concrete possibilities for return cannot yet be predicted and it would be unprofessional to speculate in such an unstable situation.”

Rights group Amnesty International denounces Germany’s freeze on asylum decisions and emphasizes that currently “the human rights situation in the country is completely unclear.”

The head of the UN refugee agency also warned that “patience and vigilance” are needed on the issue of refugee returns.

‘Repatriation and deportation’

In Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer ordered the Interior Ministry to “suspend all pending Syrian asylum applications and review all asylum applications.”

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added that he had “instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation program to Syria.”

“The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days,” the ministry said, adding that it is “currently monitoring and analyzing the new situation.”

The French Interior Ministry said it would also put asylum applications from Syrians on hold, while authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway announced similar steps.

The UK Home Office said it was taking the same measure “while we assess the current situation”.

The Italian government said late on Monday after a cabinet meeting that it was also suspending asylum applications “in line with other European partners.”

The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, a coalition partner in the government, said residence permits for Syrian refugees now need to be “revised.”

“Destructive Islamic forces are behind the change of power” in Syria, their leader Jimmie Akesson wrote on X.

“I see that groups here in Sweden are happy with this development. You should see it as a good opportunity to go home.”

In Greece, a government spokesperson expressed hope that Assad’s fall will eventually allow “the safe return of Syrian refugees” to their country, but without announcing concrete measures.

‘Populist and irresponsible’

In Germany, the debate has gained momentum as the country heads towards elections in February.

Achim Brotel, chairman of a group of German municipalities, called for border controls to prevent fleeing Assad loyalists from reaching Germany.

The center-right opposition CDU suggested that rejected Syrian asylum seekers should now lose so-called subsidiary protection.

“If the reason for protection no longer applies, refugees will have to return to their home country,” CDU lawmaker Thorsten Frei told Welt TV.

CDU MP Jens Spahn suggested that Berlin would operate charter flights to Syria and offer 1,000 euros ($1,057) to “anyone who wants to return.”

A member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats criticized the debate as “populist and irresponsible”.

Greens MP Anton Hofreiter also said that “it is completely unclear what will happen next in Syria” and that talks about deportation were “completely misplaced”.

Many Syrians in Germany have watched the events in their homeland with great joy, but prefer to wait and see before deciding whether to return.

“We want to go back to Syria,” said Mahmoud Zaml, 25, who works in an Arab pastry shop in Berlin, adding that he hopes to help “rebuild” his country.

“But we have to wait a while now,” he told AFP. “We have to see what happens and if it is really 100 percent safe, then we will go back to Syria.”