BRUSSELS
EU countries granted asylum to almost 136,000 people fleeing conflict in 2013 with many coming from war-torn Syria, official data revealed on Thursday.
According to figures released by the European statistics agency, Eurostat, the largest groups who were granted the right to asylum in European countries were citizens of Syria (35,800 persons or 26% of the total number of persons granted protection status), Afghanistan (16,400) and Somalia (9,700).
The number of Syrians doubled compared to the previous year, the agency said.
Eurostat said the highest number of Syrians were granted the right to asylum mostly in Sweden and Germany. Most Afghans went to Germany and most Somalis were granted the right to live in the Netherlands.
The highest rates of registration were recorded in Sweden (26,400 people), followed by Germany (26,100) and France (16,200).
The three-year conflict in Syria has killed more than 100,000 while displacing more than 6.5 million people, according to the UN reports.
More than two million Syrians are now living as refugees in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
www.aa.com.tr/en
