Netherlands: Among refugees, 10 Syrians suspected of war crimes discovered

Dutch authorities have identified about thirty people suspected of war crimes among the 59,000 people who applied for asylum last year, and a third of them are Syrians, the minister for immigration said on Monday, reports the Patria News Agency.

Klaas Dijkhoff published these data in a letter to members of parliament, while an intensified debate on immigration is underway in the country, prompted by the increased influx of refugees from war zones in the Middle East.

Several members of parliament have called on the government to start returning migrants suspected of committing crimes or violating Dutch laws.

Ten suspects are from Syria and the others are from Eritrea, Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries, he added without going into detail.

Dijkhoff said that it is possible that Syrians will not be sent home due to international laws prohibiting repatriation to a country where the conflict is still ongoing.

Sharp opposition to immigration in the Netherlands has been intensified by the right-wing anti-Muslim Freedom Party, whose leader Geert Wilders is regularly cited as the most popular politician in the country, writes Index.