LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims while it assesses the current situation, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a government spokesperson, after rebel forces seized the capital of Damascus over the weekend.
Britain’s Home Office did not immediately comment on the report.
The reported 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.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Catarina Demony; editing by William James)
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