Denmark firm on returning refugees to war-torn Syria

Despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and civil society organisations, Denmark is determined to push ahead with efforts to return Syrian refugees to war-torn Syria as it claims conditions in parts of the country have improved.

The Nordic country decided last year to review hundreds of residency permits for Syrian asylum seekers after immigration authorities said conditions in the capital Damascus and surrounding areas had improved.

In response, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Danish parliament last week to protest the move to revoke residency permits, echoing calls from NGOs and EU-lawmakers, who say Syria is not safe to retur Deportations to a country at war must never be normal. Denmark should not take a vanguard role here," it said in the letter signed by 33 lawmakers from 12 member states, including Germany and France.

Sweden and the United Kingdom have also concluded that the general conditions in Syria's capital region have improved.

But the Danish Refugee Council, an NGO, said Denmark was the only country in Europe to start systematically rescinding Syrian refugees' residence permits on those grounds.

Both the European Council and the European Parliament have issued declarations saying conditions are not in place for the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Similarly, the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, has called on states not to forcibly return Syrian nationals to any part of Syria, even those areas controlled by the government, such as the capital region.

($1 = 6.1560 Danish crowns) n to.