(Deutsche Welle) Over 17,000 Afghans filed asylum claims in the European Union, Switzerland and Norway in September of 2021, compared to around 10,000 in August, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) said on Friday.
This represents a 72% increase compared to August, which itself saw a 38% rise compared to July. It also means nearly twice as many Afghanis applied in September compared to Syrians in the same time span.
“This increase partly reflected the evacuations that followed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan,” EASO said, referring to the faster-than-expected Islamist offensive that saw the Taliban reclaim control over Kabul in mid-August.
Even so, the number of Afghans applying for asylum in September this year was less than half the absolute record, which was set in November 2015.
