Britain will help Syrians who fled their country return home, says border minister Dame Angela Eagle.
She also explained how the Home Office had paused decisions on asylum claims from Syrians following the fall of Bashar Assad’s brutal regime.
The UK, like many other countries, is waiting to see what sort of administration emerges after the lightning advance by rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, which forced Assad to flee to Russia.
The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors late on Monday, and diplomats said they were still in shock at how quickly Assad’s overthrow unfolded over 12 days, after a 13-year civil war that was locked in stalemate for years and which saw hundreds of thousands killed.
Syrians who had fled the country have already started returning from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
In London, border security and asylum minister Ms Eagle said that if people wish to return to Syria from the UK “we’d certainly like to facilitate that”.
But she stressed at the moment there would not be any forced repatriations given the uncertainties about the new administration in Syria.
Asked whether leave to remain would continue for people who had been granted the status after fleeing Syria, Dame Angela told Times Radio: “We have suspended our consideration of the current asylum claims - about 6,500 - until we can see what emerges from the current situation.
“If people wish to go home we’d certainly like to facilitate that, but I think it’s too early to say what will emerge from the events that have happened in the last few days.”
She emphasised that the UK has paused decisions on asylum applications from Syrians because of the “fluid” situation.
“One of the main reasons why people were fleeing and claiming asylum was to get away from the Assad regime,” she explained.
“Because things are so fluid we need to wait a little bit before we try to recommence asylum decisions in a territory where things are changing so rapidly.”
“Rest assured that the intelligence services are keeping a very close eye on what’s going on and we’re in contact with all of our allies to see how this pans out,” added Dame Angela.
“Clearly any potential return of jihadists is a matter of great concern, which is why we’ll be keeping a very very close eye on how this situation develops in the coming days and weeks.”
As the new leaders in Syria were seeking to establish an administration, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Syrian army and air bases amid fears that chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants.
An Israeli military incursion into Syria has reached about 16 miles southwest of Damascus, Syrian security sources said on Tuesday, after Israel seized a buffer zone in southern Syria.
Israel’s military operation into Syria comes two days after the shock overthrow of Assad by a rebel alliance left Syrians, regional countries and world powers nervous about the future direction of the country.
