Syria, Russia, Afghanistan top sources for asylum seekers
May 22 Fox News
Syria, Russia and Afghanistan have the largest numbers of people
fleeing their homelands to seek asylum, and most are turning to Europe,
the United Nations refugee agency said in a report .
Syria's 3-year-old civil war generated 56,351 asylum seekers in 2013,
more than double the previous year's total of 25,232, according to the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Syria
became the world's biggest source for asylum seekers, surpassing
Afghanistan, which fell to third.Russia, meanwhile, become the
second-biggest source of asylum seekers with 39,779, up from 22,650 in
2012.Volker Turk, the agency's director of international protection,
attributed Russia's surge to rising unrest in the Russian region of
Chechnya.
He forecast that Syria's refugee problem would worsen this year.The
U.N. report found that 38,653 Afghans sought asylum last year, versus
47,519 in 2012. It said 38,171 Iraqis and 34,660 Serbians sought asylum
in 2013 for fourth and fifth place, respectively.The 38 nations of
Europe experienced the biggest 2013 increase in asylum applications,
with Germany, France and Sweden the most popular destinations,
particularly for Syrians.Europe as a whole had 484,600 asylum claims, 32
percent higher than in 2012. Germany received 109,580, France 60,100,
Sweden 54,360, Turkey 44,810, Britain 29,190, Italy 27,830, Switzerland
19,440 and Hungary 18,570.
Outside Europe, the United States dealt with 88,360 asylum
applications, Australia 24,320.The report offered few specifics on
countries' rates of acceptance of asylum claims. It noted that
applicants were more likely to receive favorable treatment if their
homelands were suffering active warfare.It found that most asylum
applicants from Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan were successful,
whereas only 28 percent of Russians and just 5 percent of Serbs won
their asylum bids.
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