At least 8 European countries suspend acceptance of Syrian refugees amid fall of Assad regime

After the victory of opposition groups and the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, several European countries have stopped processing Syrian asylum applications. A number of other countries are considering a complete suspension of the acceptance of Syrian refugees and "deportation programs".

This was reported by the French publication Le Monde.

On December 9, governments announced that they would freeze all asylum applications from Syrians.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also promised to open the Yayladağı border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border to facilitate the return of refugees. It has been closed since 2013.

The suspension of asylum applications from Syrians was announced in the following countries.

France

France is working on a possible suspension of asylum applications from Syrians, the Interior Ministry told Le Monde. A decision should be made in the coming hours.

Germany

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that after the fall of the Assad regime, many Syrians have had hope of returning to their homeland.

According to her, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has frozen decisions on asylum procedures for Syrians.

Greece

The Greek government said that the fall of the Assad regime should open the way for Syrian refugees to return to their homes in complete safety.

According to the Greek government's spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, the events in Syria should mark the end of the flow of refugees from that country.

Sweden

The Swedish Migration Agency said it would suspend decisions on asylum applications and deportations of Syrians.

The agency said it would formally announce its decision on Tuesday, and that no decisions on refusal of asylum or deportation would be made during the suspension.

Norway

Norway has suspended asylum applications until further notice.

"This is due to recent major events and developments in Syria. However, the situation in the country still remains very unclear," the Norwegian Immigration Service said in a statement.

Denmark

The Danish Refugee Appeals Board said it was postponing the processing of 69 asylum cases for Syrians, citing the highly uncertain situation in Syria.

United Kingdom

The UK Home Office said on December 9 that the country was suspending asylum applications for Syrians.

Austria

Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the Interior Ministry to temporarily suspend the consideration of all current applications for asylum for Syrians and review all issued residence permits in the country.

And Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that he had instructed to begin developing an orderly program of repatriation and deportation to Syria.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on the night of December 7-8, the Syrian army command announced the end of the rule of dictator Bashar Assad. He ruled the country for over 24 years, replacing his father Hafez Assad, who ruled for 29 years.

The fall of the Assad regime occurred as a result of the offensive of opposition groups. The largest of them, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization, began on November 27. In eleven days, the rebels managed to capture most of the country and occupy Damascus.

As a reminder, on December 8, the head of the Syrian government, Muhammad al-Jalali, declared his readiness to transfer power in the country into the hands of the opposition.