European trio Germany, Sweden and Austria have decided to pause on Syrian asylum requests, citing developments in the war-torn country after Bashar Assad's ouster.
The Swedish Migration Agency said Monday it would pause decisions on asylum requests and deportations.
"Given the situation, it is simply not possible to assess the grounds for protection at this time," Carl Bexelius, head of legal affairs at the agency, said in a statement that added that the formal decision would be made Tuesday.
Germany meanwhile, has suspended decisions on asylum requests from Syrians amid the "unclear situation" in the country, the interior minister said Monday.
Germany took in almost 1 million Syrians, Europe's biggest diaspora from the war-ravaged country, with the bulk arriving in 2015-16 under ex-chancellor Angela Merkel.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that "the end of the brutal tyranny of the Syrian dictator Assad is a great relief for many people who have suffered from torture, murder and terror."
"Many refugees who have found protection in Germany now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland and rebuilding their country," she said in a statement.
But she cautioned that "the situation in Syria is currently very unclear."
"Therefore, concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted at the moment and it would be unprofessional to speculate about them in such a volatile situation."
"In view of this unclear situation, it is right that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has today imposed a freeze on decisions for asylum procedures that are still ongoing until the situation is clearer," she said.
The interior ministry says there are now 974,136 people with Syrian nationality residing in Germany.
Of these, 5,090 have been recognized as eligible for asylum, 321,444 have been granted refugee status and 329,242 have been granted subsidiary protection, a temporary stay of deportation, with tens of thousands of other cases still pending.
Earlier in the day, Austria said it was also suspending all Syrian asylum applications and wanted to deport refugees back to Syria.
Some 100,000 Syrians live in Austria, one of the biggest diaspora populations in Europe, with thousands waiting for asylum applications to be approved.
Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday instructed the interior ministry "to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants," the ministry said in a statement.
"From now on, open (asylum) proceedings of Syrian citizens will be stopped," it said.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he has "instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation program to Syria."
Family reunification – allowing Syrians in Austria to bring relatives to the country – will also be suspended, the statement added.
"The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days," the ministry said, adding it is "currently monitoring and analyzing the new situation."
"It is essential to reassess the situation, which is necessary for further processing of the cases," the ministry added.
Around 7,300 Syrians whose asylum applications are in the first stage of consideration "are affected" by the suspension, the ministry said.
Since 2015, some 87,000 Syrians have been given asylum.
