German officials stated that it's too soon to tell what the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will ultimately mean for Syrians recently seeking refuge in Germany after fleeing their war-torn country, AP News reports. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees reported that over 47,000 applications are currently pending.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that as of the end of October, there were 974,136 total Syrian nationals in Germany with a refugee or protected status for the most part. She stated that "the end of the brutal tyranny of the Syrian dictator Assad is a great relief for many people who have suffered from torture, murder and terror."
She said in a statement: “Many refugees who have found protection in Germany now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland and rebuilding their country, cautioning that “the situation in Syria is currently very unclear," and adding, "Therefore, concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted at the moment and it would be unprofessional to speculate about them in such a volatile situation.
"In view of this unclear situation, it is right that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has today imposed a freeze on decisions for asylum procedures that are still ongoing until the situation is clearer."
Over in Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer ordered the suspension of decisions on Syrian asylum applications as well. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said, "It is important to first establish facts, to put asylum and family reunion procedures on hold ... We need to wait until the dust settles, so we can see what is happening, what the next points are."
The Telegraph reports that there are over 100,000 Syrians living in Austria and thousands are waiting for asylum applications to be approved.
On Sunday, Islamist rebels seized the capital of Syria, Damascus, ending the 6-decade rule of the Assad family. The ousted president and his family then fled Syria and according to Russian state media were granted asylum in Moscow. Since the civil war began in 2011, around 7 million Syrians fled the country. Over 1 million have settled in Europe with the majority taking refuge in Germany. After the rebels launched their offensive last week, an additional nearly 400,000 Syrians fled their homes. Many are now expected to return home after the collapse of the regime.
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