Germany, Austria and several other European countries have said they will freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. Approaching the question with caution, France's interior ministry said it was "considering" a similar move.
World leaders and Syrians abroad are still reeling after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus on Sunday, ending President Bashar al-Assad's brutal rule.
Since the civil war began in 2011, 500,000 people have been killed and half the country forced to flee their homes, millions of them finding refuge abroad.
The sudden turn of events has prompted several countries to question their asylum-seeking procedures for Syrians.
Germany on Monday said it would suspend decisions for asylum procedures for the time being, as did Austria, Britain, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
France's out-going Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Monday that "a decision should be reached in the coming hours," specifying that the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) was in charge of the issue.
Ofpra, an independent public body, said it was "carefully monitoring the situation in Syria" in a press release.
Call for patience
"As always in the event of an evolving situation in a country of origin of asylum seekers, this may lead to a temporary suspension of decision-making on certain asylum requests from Syrian nationals, depending on the reasons given," Ofpra said.
Director of the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) told public broadcaster franceinfo on Tuesday that France should be patient before making a decision.
"We are in an uncertain, changing situation", Didier Leschi said.
In 2023, more than 4,465 asylum requests from Syrian nationals were registered in France and 2,500 since the start of 2024, according to the latest figures from Ofpra.
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Around 700 requests including minors are still being processed, added Ofpra.
Germany has taken in almost one million Syrians, with most arriving in 2015-16 under ex-chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Monday, Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum procedures "until the situation is clearer".
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said many Syrian refugees "now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland" but cautioned that "the situation in Syria is currently very unclear".
She added that "concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted and it would be unprofessional to speculate in such a volatile situation".
Volatile situation
Rights group Amnesty International slammed Germany's freeze on asylum decisions, stressing that for now "the human rights situation in the country is completely unclear".
Far-right politician Alice Weidel, of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, reacted with disdain to Sunday's mass rallies by jubilant Syrians celebrating Assad's downfall.
"Anyone in Germany who celebrates 'free Syria' evidently no longer has any reason to flee," she wrote on X. "They should return to Syria immediately."
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In Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the interior ministry "to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants".
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he had "instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation programme to Syria".
"The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days," the ministry said, adding it is "currently monitoring and analysing the new situation".
Vigilance
Authorities in Belgium and the Netherlands have also announced moves to suspend asylum applications for the time being.
Britain's interior ministry said it was taking the same measure "whilst we assess the current situation".
The Italian government said late Monday after a cabinet meeting that it too was suspending asylum request "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 should now be "reviewed".
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"Destructive Islamist forces are behind the change of power" in Syria, wrote their leader Jimmie Akesson on X.
"I see that groups are happy about this development here in Sweden. You should see it as a good opportunity to go home."
In Greece, a government spokesman voiced hope that Assad's fall will eventually allow "the safe return of Syrian refugees" to their country, but without announcing concrete measures.
The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi cautioned that "patience and vigilance" were needed on the issue of refugee returns.
(with AFP)
