UK pauses decisions on Syrian asylum claims

The UK has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims, after the country’s President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the situation was “moving extremely fast after the fall of the Assad regime” and some people were returning to Syria following recent developments.

Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebel factions seized control of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday after years of civil war.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the end of Assad’s “barbaric regime” in Syria and called for the restoration of “peace and stability”.

Germany, France and Sweden are among the countries which have also paused all pending asylum requests from Syrians, while Austria has signalled it will soon deport refugees back to the country.

Millions of Syrians have fled the country since the civil war broke out in 2011, after Assad brutally crushed a pro-democracy uprising.