Clashes Intensify at Finnish Reception Centers - Migri

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of clashes has increased at Finland's asylum seekers reception centers, as the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has registered from 20 to 60 cases of violence between centers’ residents every month since the beginning of this year, Kimmo Lehto, the head of a section at Migri, said Thursday.

"There is more unrest at reception centers than there has been in the past. The most common symptom behind this is depression. Negative decisions can cause anxiety. If disagreements or conflicts crop up, some people lose their temper and end up fighting," Lehto said, as quoted by Finland's Yle broadcaster.

The official noted that it could be caused by negative asylum decisions.

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According to Migri figures, it has also recorded from 10 to 15 cases of hostile behavior toward centers’ staff.

For his part, Ari Jokinen, a police inspector at the National Police Board, said he believed that the security situation in the reception centers had not deteriorated.

According to the broadcaster, Finland’s reception centers house about 11,400 asylum seekers throughout the country, about 9,000 of whom have received a negative asylum decision.

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