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Those rejecting Syrian refugees best allies of extremists: UN

Tuesday, 22 December 2015 2:52 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 22 December 2015 2:53 AM ]

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres (AFP)

People who reject Syrian asylum seekers are the "best allies" of extremist groups operating in the crisis-hit country, the United Nations refugee chief says, in an apparent reference to US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s controversial anti-Muslim remarks.

“Those that reject Syrian refugees because they are Muslims are the best allies in the recruitment propaganda of extremist groups," UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Trump has recently called for a complete ban on all Muslims entering the US in a bid to curb the threat of terrorism in the country. He has also urged a national database and special IDs that help track American Muslims.

"We must not forget that - despite the rhetoric we are hearing these days - refugees are the first victims of such terror, not its source," Guterres said, adding, "They cannot be blamed for a threat which they're risking their lives to escape."

*Syrian refugees wait to register at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Amman, Jordan December 11, 2015. (Reuters)*

Syria has been gripped with foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s population within or beyond its borders.

Guterres also noted that the possibility of terrorists’ infiltration among refugees should not be overestimated.

"Yes, of course there is a possibility that terrorists could try to infiltrate refugee movements. But this possibility exists for all communities - and homegrown radicalization is by far the biggest threat, as all recent incidents have shown," he said.

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