german Chancellor Urges Syrian Refugees to Depart
Berlin - German chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued strong remarks calling for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland, citing the evolving situation within Syria and questioning the continued justification for asylum. The comments,delivered recently,signal a potential shift in Germany’s refugee policy regarding Syrians who initially sought protection from the civil war that began in 2011.
Germany experienced a critically important influx of Syrian refugees beginning in 2015 and 2016, as the conflict escalated and created a mass exodus. Now, with a new government in place in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad on December 8 of last year, Chancellor Scholz is suggesting conditions may have improved sufficiently for returns. This development raises questions about the future of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees currently residing in Germany and the broader implications for European asylum policies.
According to reports, the Assad regime was ousted when rebel forces entered Damascus, forcing Assad to flee. He had been president since 2000, succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad, who led Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. The new Syrian government is currently led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who spearheaded the offensive that removed assad from power.
Al-sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group within the rebel alliance. He has publicly called for HTS to be removed from international terrorist organization lists maintained by the UN, US, European Union, and UK, noting the group’s 2016 split from al-Qaeda.
In a recent interview with the BBC in Damascus, President al-Sharaa stated Syria is “tired of war” and poses no threat to its neighbors or western countries. He further appealed for the lifting of international sanctions, arguing they unfairly impact the general population. “Now, after everything that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were aimed at the old regime. Victims and oppressors should not be treated in the same way,” al-Sharaa said, as reported on December 21, 2024.
