Sweden halts all deportations to Syria due to violence

Sweden halts all deportations to Syria due to violence

2012-01-31 08:10:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

STOCKHOLM (BNO NEWS) -- The Swedish Migration Board on Monday decided to suspend all expulsions and deportations to Syria due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the country, officials said.

Syria has been gripped by violence since pro-democracy demonstrations spread across the country in March 2011, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left at least 5,400 people killed. According to the opposition Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC), up to 100 people were killed on Monday alone.

"Now the violence has worsened, meaning no decision on deportation or expulsion may be enforced," the agency said in a brief statement. It attributed the suspension to the rising number of civilian casualties and increasing signs that the situation has escalated to an armed conflict.

Last month, Mikael Ribbenvik, Head of the Division for Legal Control at the Migration Board, announced that Swedish authorities would be able to more easily grant protection to Syrian immigrants in Sweden. "We are following events in Syria on a day by day basis and are very concerned about the situation," he said at the time. "More and more Syrians are receiving protection in Sweden."

On Saturday, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby decided to suspend its observer mission in Syria due to an escalation of violence. The 100 observers arrived in Syria late last month to verify whether the regime has taken measures to protect civilians, but many of the observers refused to leave their hotels in Damascus on Friday and Saturday amid reports of increasing violence.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-31