A clear majority of German residents believe Syrian refugees should be allowed to remain in the country until conditions in their homeland are peaceful and stable enough to return, according to a new survey.
The survey for German public broadcaster ZDF, released on Friday, showed 64% of respondents in favour of granting Syrian refugees time to assess developments in the Middle Eastern country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Germany is home to around 975,000 Syrians, according to Interior Ministry figures, with most arriving since 2015 as a result of the civil war that broke out in 2011.
Since an alliance of rebel fighters led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization toppled al-Assad almost two weeks ago, a number of conservative German politicians have called for Syrian refugees to quickly return home.
Immigration authorities have also paused decisions on asylum applications from Syrians amid the developing situation.
However, the survey shows that only 6% of German residents believe all Syrian refugees should leave as quickly as possible, although 27% think that unemployed Syrians should do so.
The study also revealed that only 27% of respondents expect Syria to become stable and peaceful after al-Assad’s fall.
