UK To Take In More Syria Refugees

UK To Take In More Syria Refugees

The UK will take in more of the most vulnerable refugees fleeing the violence in Syria, David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister said he would "modestly expand" the scheme as people flee the country which has been torn apart by civil war and the rise of Islamic State (IS) extremists.

The UK had previously committed to take in 500 migrants from Syria over three years and sources indicated that the Government was now prepared to accept "a few hundred more".

The Prime Minister said: "Today I can announce that we will work with the United Nations to modestly expand this national scheme so that we provide resettlement for the most vulnerable fleeing Syria, those who cannot be adequately protected in neighbouring countries."

Mr Cameron made the announcement in a speech at a security conference in Bratislava where he warned of the dangers posed by people in Britain who "quietly condone" Islamic State's extremist ideology.

Highlighting the need for British Muslim communities to take more responsibility for countering radicalisation, Mr Cameron said the threat posed by IS, also known as Isil, was "formidable and growing".

He said: "It is what we have seen this week with the youngest suicide bomber in our history in Iraq. It is what we may have seen with three women and their young children who went to Saudi Arabia to perform their pilgrimage and who have thought to have gone to Isil territory.

"Only if we are clear about this threat and its causes can we tackle it.

"The cause is ideological. It is an Islamist extremist ideology, one that says the West is bad and democracy is wrong, that women are inferior and homosexuality is evil.

"It says religious doctrine trumps the rule of law and caliphate trumps nation state and it justifies violence in asserting itself and achieving its aims. The question is: How do people arrive at this world view?"

He continued: "I am clear that one of the reasons is that there are people who hold some of these views who don't go as far as advocating violence, but do buy into some of these prejudices, giving the extreme Islamist narrative weight and telling fellow Muslims 'you are part of this'.

"This paves the way for young people to turn simmering prejudice into murderous intent. To go from listening to firebrand preachers online to boarding a plane to Istanbul and travelling onward to join the jihadis."

Mr Cameron claimed that the fact the extremist message is supported in some sections of society can help add to the appeal of IS for youngsters "angry at the world" or "looking for an identity".

He will say: "We've always had angry young men and women buying into supposedly revolutionary causes. This one is evil, is it contradictory, it is futile - but it is particularly potent today.

"And I think part of the reason it's so potent is that it has been given this credence. So if you're a troubled boy who is angry at the world or a girl looking for an identity, for something to believe in and there's something that is quietly condoned online or perhaps even in parts of your local community then it's less of a leap to go from a British teenager to an Isil fighter or an Isil wife than it would be for someone who hasn't been exposed to these things."

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