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Asylum requests in Switzerland drop significantly in Q1 2016

Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 8,315 asylum requests were recorded in Switzerland between January and March this year, down 45 percent from the last quarter in 2015, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said Thursday.

This trend is largely attributed to the recent decrease in migratory flows through the Balkans and winter weather conditions.

"Though the number of new asylum requests made in 2016 has decreased, the evolution of the situation in conflict-affected regions remains uncertain,"the SEM said in a statement, adding that it is almost impossible to predict how migratory trends will evolve for the country.

Most of those who submitted asylum requests with Swiss authorities this year are from Afghanistan (2,041 requests), while Syrians and Iraqis accounted for 873 and 731 requests respectively.

A total of 609 people were granted asylum in the confederation last month, a further 559 were given temporary admission while 847 people left the country or were repatriated.

According to SEM figures, almost 40,000 refugees sought asylum in Switzerland over the course of last year. Enditem