Mass asylum seeker influx last month

The number of asylum applications the Ministry of Security and Justice received in June increased by a third to 2,937. The number of lone children seeking asylum in the country rose to 299 last month, the ministry stated on Thursday.

A massive 1,248 of these asylum seekers fled from Eritrea and 737 came from Syria. The number of applications incrased significantly between March and May - from 800 to 2,300.

On Wednesday the Central Office for Asylum Seekers announced that two congress centers, in Goes and Zwolle, is being converted to provide extra shelter for refugees while they are busy with their asylum requests.

According to the COA, the number of applications are increasing more than expected and CEO Gerard Bakker is very pleased that these two municipalities are willing to help. "The COA is very dependent on Dutch municipalities in performing its task. This applies both to the establishment of locations and the housing of permit holders, of which there are currently about 13 thousand staying with us", Bakker said.

"It is crowded in the shelters and the realistic expectation is that it will only get busier. I am therefore very pleased with the commitment of the municipalities of Goes and Zwolle. We are now focusing on starting up and running these two temporary sites as well as possible, but in the meantime we still remain searching for new opportunities."