UK Warns Assad Downfall Could Trigger European Migration Crisis
- Syria is in a moment of danger as well as opportunity: Lammy
- Britain puts asylum claims from Syria on pause for now
Refugees, who were living in Lebanon, cross the border between Syria and Lebanon on Dec. 9.
Photographer: Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power in Syria could spark a fresh migration crisis across Europe, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned, as Britain paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims.
The overthrow of Assad’s regime is a “moment of danger as well as opportunity,” Lammy said on Monday in the House of Commons, adding that the UK government remains “cautious” about the rebel group which ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. It remains a proscribed terrorist organization in the UK and the government will closely monitor how it and other parties in the conflict treat civilians in areas they control, Lammy said.