Britain blocks decisions on Syrian asylum claims

Britain has halted decisions on Syrian asylum claims after ousting the country’s President Bashar al-Assad.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that “the situation is moving very quickly following the fall of the Assad regime” and that some people are returning to Syria after recent developments.

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

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

Germany, France and Sweden are among the countries that have blocked all pending asylum requests from Syrians, while Austria has indicated it will soon send 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 rebellion.