Australia to receive first Syrian refugees

Australia to receive first Syrian refugees

10:29 am
AFP
The first of 12,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria to be resettled by Australia will arrive within 24 hours, the government said Monday, as concerns about security checks mounted after bloody attacks in Paris.
Australia, which has joined US-led air strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria, said in September it would boost its humanitarian refugee intake by 12,000 in the face of the unrest in the Middle East.

 

The first arrivals, a family of five from Homs, were to arrive in the western city of Perth before Tuesday evening, said Australia’s Social Services Minister Christian Porter.
“The family has been through a great deal,” Porter told reporters, adding that they had spent a long time in refugee camps.
The resettlement comes just days after a deadly coordinated attack in Paris claimed by the Islamic State group that killed at least 129 people.
Before the announcement in September of the increased refugee quotas, Australia had already agreed to resettle more than 13,000 from around the world in the 2015-16 fiscal year.
The additional 12,000 spots are for those fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq.