Call for more security after Swedish migrant centre stabbing

Swedish officials Tuesday called for greater security at overcrowded asylum centres a day after the fatal stabbing of an employee at a refugee centre for unaccompanied youths.

The alleged attacker was a young male residing at a centre for youngsters aged 14 to 17 in Molndal near Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast.

The employee was 22-year-old Alexandra Mezher, according to Swedish media reports, whose family is originally from Lebanon. A motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Her death has led to questions about overcrowded conditions inside some centres, with too few adults and employees to take care of children, many traumatised by war.

"I think many people are concerned and worried that there will be more violence since Sweden has received so many unaccompanied children and young people," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven stressed after visiting Molndal.

"Many of those who come young to Sweden have traumatic experiences, and there are no easy answers."
The suspect was 15 years old and was one of more than 30,000 unaccompanied minors recently arrived in Sweden, which like the rest of Europe, has been struggling with the continent's biggest migration crisis since World War II.

"I wouldn't say that we've taken in too many migrants, but it may have been too many people over too short a period of time for the handful of localities where migrants are being resettled in Sweden," said Victor Harju, a senior spokesman at the Ministry for Home Affairs.

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According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, some 40 to 50 municipalities are facing extreme difficulties in Sweden's biggest cities, straining conditions, while some 220 localities should accept more.

Many of the asylum centres are also overcrowded, according to union members working at the facilities. The number of threats and violent incidents at asylum facilities more than doubled from 2014 to 2015.

In 2014, there were 148 incidents and in 2015 that number jumped to 322, according to the Swedish Migration Agency.

At the same time, the number of arson attacks targeting asylum shelters have also surged, with at least two dozen centres reduced to ashes or damaged by fire last year.

The attacks and increased concerns over migration and security forced National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson to request 4,100 additional officers and support staff to help counter terrorism, deport migrants and to police asylum facilities, such as the one where Monday's attack took place.

Many workers at asylum facilities such as the one in Molndal where the stabbing occured have repeatedly complained about a lack of resources.

"We have had many calls with concerns about staffing. Many of the younger staff members lack the kinds of professional profiles that they need to work in places like this," said Kristina Folkesson, a senior official at Vision, the union many asylum centre staff members belong to.

Sweden, a country of 9.8 million, took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, putting it among the EU states with the highest proportion of refugees per capita.

It has since tightened its asylum rules to curb the migrant flow.
Source :AFP