The number of Iraqi asylum requests in Sweden dropped by half in the first six months of 2008,the Swedish Migration Board said Monday.
A total of 18,559 Iraqis sought asylum last year in Sweden. In the first six months of this year, almost 4,000 Iraqis make up 25 percent of asylum seekers in Sweden.
Migration Board spokeswoman Marie Andersson said the number decreases by half over 2007, due primarily to stricter the acceptance rules for asylum claims.
Last year, Sweden was the leading European country for granting asylum to Iraqis. Immigration authorities ruled that it was acceptable to return Iraqi citizens to their country if "there is no armed conflict in Iraq." But Iraqis now must prove that they are personally threatened at home to be given asylum in Sweden.
"It has been harder for Iraqis to leave Iraq, since neighboring countries have tightened their criteria for crossing their borders," Andersson said. "Another reason for the decline in asylum requests is that the situation in Iraq has improved slightly."
Source:Xinhua
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