Britain bows to pressure to accept more Syrians

 
BERLIN — British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday said "thousands more" Syrian refugees would be allowed into the United Kingdom.
Cameron has bowed to public pressure at home and to political momentum in the European Union to do more to address a growing humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands of people — Syrians fleeing the Islamic State, but also Iraqis, Eritreans, Nigerians, Albanians and many others — flee to Europe.
"Given the scale of the crisis and the suffering of the people, today I can announce that we will do more — providing resettlement for thousands more Syrian refugees," he said.
Britain has accepted since 2014 just a few hundred of the four million Syrians who have fled the conflict-ravaged nation. Germany, by contrast, has already registered over 40,000 Syrian asylum seekers this year and is expected to absorb around 800,00 refugees and migrants before the year is out.
The British leader made the announcement in Spain, where he discussed the issue Friday with his Spanish and Portuguese counterparts.
He noted that the country would continue its approach of taking Syrians to refugee camps, which provides them with a "more direct and safe route to the U.K., rather than risking the hazardous journey which has tragically cost so many lives."
The development comes as countries across Europe are struggling to fashion a cohesive strategy to deal with a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in the region since World War II. It also comes on the same day that the bodies of two boys and their mother are returned to Syria for burial, after a harrowing photo of one of the boys washed up on a beach caused a stir around the world.
Cameron also noted that officials would discuss the execution of these plans and the numbers of refugees the country will take with NGOs and partners. More details will be released next week.
Thousands of people remain stranded in Hungary's capital Budapest Friday after authorities there are refusing to allow them to cross the border into Austria and Slovakia on their way to Germany.

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Germany and Sweden are the favored destinations of Syrians seeking asylum because their applications are more likely to be accepled
Germany and Sweden are the favored destinations of Syrians seeking asylum because their applications are more likely to be accepted.
Hungary's Prime Minister on Thursday described the crisis unfolding in central Europe as chiefly a "German problem."
"(It) is not a European problem, the problem is a German problem, nobody would like to stay in Hungary,” Orban said. “All of them would like to go to Germany.
Germany and Sweden are the favored destinations of Syrians seeking asylum because their applications are more likely to be accepted.
Hungary's Prime Minister on Thursday described the crisis unfolding in central Europe as chiefly a "German problem."
"(It) is not a European problem, the problem is a German problem, nobody would like to stay in Hungary,” Orban said. “All of them would like to go to Germany.