18/11/14
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20 March 2013
Germany is prepared to give shelter to another 5000 Syrian refugees in the coming months, in response to the worsening conflict and refugee crisis. The decision was welcomed Wednesday by EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström.
"I have been in contact today by phone with the German Federal Minister of the Interior, Hans-Peter Friedrich", Cecilia Malmström said in a statement, and continued:
"I welcome this initiative that represents a striking example of solidarity in a moment when Syrian people are suffering the consequences of a devastating situation and I hope other Member States will follow it. I have immediately asked my services to look into the possibility of offering financial help to Germany in its resettlement efforts."
Since the conflict in Syria started two years ago, over a million people have fled the country. The overwhelming majority of them, or 1.1 million refugees, have arrived in neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Meanwhile, 24.800 asylum claims have been registered in industrialised countries.
Read Cecilia Malmström's full statement here. Last week, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Kristalina Georgieva, blogged about the worsening situation in Syria. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, also has more information about the ongoing refugee crisis.
