LONDON (Reuters) -Britain paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims on Monday, a government spokesperson said, after rebel forces seized the capital of Damascus over the weekend.
“The Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation,” a spokesperson from the interior ministry said in a statement.
“We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues.”
The UK decision comes after Germany, Austria and other European countries ordered a halt to asylum applications by Syrians after President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil war.
The war forced millions of Syrians to flee the country.
Most went to Turkey and other neighbouring nations but Syrians also made up a large proportion of the more than a million people who fled to Germany and Austria during the European migration crisis of 2015 and 2016.
In the UK, by the end of February 2021, more than 20,000 Syrian refugees had been resettled under a government scheme, according to the Refugee Council.
Speaking separately, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that events in Syria could trigger more migration into European states depending on what comes next in the country.
“Seeing so many start to return to Syria is a positive sign for their hopes for a better future now that Assad is gone,” Lammy told parliament.
“But a lot depends on what happens now. This flow into Syria could quickly become a flow back out and potentially increase the numbers using dangerous illegal migration routes to continental Europe and the United Kingdom.”
(Reporting by Muvija M and Catarina Demony; editing by William James and Christina Fincher)
