`Bangladeshis` among asylum seekers in Austria

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As thousands of desperate refugees continued their march inside Austria in their frantic bid to build a new life in Europe, a good number of Bangladeshi migrants are reportedly there among the asylum seekers.Though a private television channel here quoting a Bangladeshi journalist in Austria claimed that there are so far 500 Bangladeshis got registered in Austrian camps, the Bangladesh Embassy in Austria did not give any specific number. Usually, no country does get involved with the host country when it comes to asylum seeking and the Foreign Ministry here also maintains that refraining from making any comment on the issue so far.However, the private TV channel 71 aired a telephone conversation with a Bangladeshi journalist in Austria on Sunday evening.He claimed that on average 15-20 Bangladeshis are being registered in the refugee camps in Austria every month. So far, 500 Bangladeshis have got registered in Austria and most of them are from Athens, Greece, he added.Most of the Bangladeshis were coming to Austria from Turkey and Libya. Some of them also reached Austrian border directly from Bangladeshis after travelling different countries, said a diplomatic source.Earlier, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said the plight of thousands of migrants stranded in Hungary, now being taken into his country, was a ‘wake-up call’ for Europe. A total of 24 Bangladesh nationals died last month in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast when two boats carrying migrants capsized.

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