Environmental Protection AgencySeveral European countries suspended consideration of asylum applications for Syrians, after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad.
Austria's interim government has halted all asylum applications from Syrians and says it plans to return or deport people to their homeland, arguing that the situation in the country has changed radically.
Germany (which hosts a million Syrians), the United Kingdom, France, and Greece have said they will suspend asylum decisions for the time being.
These decisions leave many in the Syrian diaspora in limbo. After the collapse of the Assad regime after 50 years of brutal rule.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a conservative and hardliner on immigration, said in a post on the X website that the government “will support all Syrians who have found refuge in Austria and want to return to their homeland.”
“The security situation in Syria must also be reassessed in order to make deportations possible again in the future,” he added.
The Austrian Interior Ministry said in a statement, “The political situation in Syria has changed radically, and above all, rapidly in recent days.”
About 95,000 Syrians live in Austria, many of whom arrived during the migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016. This has led to increased support for the far right and conservatives in Austria.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Germany has suspended all pending applications for Syrian asylum seekers.
Officials say the political situation in Syria is so uncertain that it is not possible to reach a proper decision on whether the country is safe or not.
Currently, 47,270 Syrians in Germany are waiting for a response to their asylum applications. Those who have already been granted asylum are not affected.
Germany has the largest Syrian diaspora outside the Middle East, with approximately one million Syrians living in Germany. About 700,000 people are classified as refugees.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the United Kingdom “has temporarily suspended asylum decisions relating to cases from Syria while the Home Office reviews and monitors the current situation.”
Cooper is sad that the situation in the country is “moving so quickly after the fall of the Assad regime” and added that some people have already returned to Syria.
France is working on a policy similar to that proposed by Germany, with a decision expected to be issued within the next few hours, according to Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians exiled in Lebanon and Jordan began returning to their homes. But on the Lebanese border, the flow was in both directions.
A BBC correspondent there said that an increasing number of Syrians were trying to enter Lebanon, prompting the Lebanese army to send reinforcements. He says some fear increased chaos or crime at home, although they also say they have been reassured this will not happen.
Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrian refugees, but is tightening the rules for their entry into the country.
