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Refugee numbers reach 2001 levels, Syria dominates new requests

The figure is double that in the first half of 2013, the CBS said.

Most – 3,700 – came from Syria, followed by Eritrea (3,500). Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan used to dominate the number of requests for refugee status.

This May, junior justice minister Fred Teeven sounded the alarm about the number of asylum seekers from Eritrea coming to the Netherlands.

He said human traffickers were to blame for much of the increase.

Since then, and the stepping up of border controls, the number of people entering the Netherlands from Eritrea has dropped, the CBS said.

In June just 200 Eritreans applied for asylum in the Netherlands.

 

© DutchNews.nl