People who reject Syrian refugees are allies of extremists - U.N.
People who reject Syrian
refugees are the "best allies" of Islamic State militants and other
extremists, the United Nations refugee chief said on Monday after U.S.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed an entry ban on
foreign Muslims.More than
4.3 million Syrians have fled a nearly five-year civil war. U.N. High
Commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres told the Security Council
they cannot be blamed for the terror they are risking their lives to
escape.
"Those that reject Syrian
refugees, and especially if they are Muslim, are the best allies of the
propaganda and the recruitment of extremist groups," Guterres said in a
swipe at Trump and some U.S. state governors and European leaders.
Democrat
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Saturday that Islamic
State is using Trump's rhetoric to enlist fighters to radical jihad.
Trump rejected her claim and called her a "liar."
Amid
the chaos of Syria's war, Islamic State has seized swathes of territory
and proclaimed a caliphate. The group claimed responsibility for the
deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris and also said a married couple who
carried out a mass shooting in Southern California on Dec. 2 were its
followers.
