Uruguay not to help Syrian refugees in their departure

Uruguay will not help Syrian refugees living in the country to leave, local media quoted the government as saying on Wednesday.

A number of Syrian refugees who arrived in Uruguay in October 2014 have expressed their desire to leave the country, saying they have not received enough help from the government and the country is too expensive for them to live in.

"We will not do anything to help them return to Syria as they are demanding. They cannot return to Syria," said Javier Miranda, the country's Secretary for Human Rights, in an interview with local daily El Pais.

"How could they return to a country at war? As a government, we cannot take on the responsibility of helping someone return to a war-torn country," he told the newspaper.

He said that the government also believed the Syrian families were really trying to get to European countries like Germany where they believe they could have better living conditions.

"They can go if they want, the problem is who would receive them. I do not believe they want to go back to Syria, but to Europe," added the secretary.

The five families, totaling 42 members, came to the Latin American country after they were encouraged by an initiative of then Uruguayan president Jose Mujica. Since then, seven more families have arrived, bringing to 116 the total number of Syrian refugees in Uruguay. Endi