The federal government calls in the army because of the refugee flow

The tense situation in the asylum system is getting worse. In the past month, an average of 120 people per day applied for asylum. In addition, there are Ukrainians who receive protection status S in Switzerland. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) estimates that between 2,500 and 5,000 Ukrainian refugees will arrive in Switzerland each month until March.

To cope with the refugee flow, the federal government is now receiving further assistance from the military. Army halls and barracks are already used as housing for refugees. The army is now making available up to 2,700 additional accommodation places for the SEM.

End of March up to 500 soldiers

In addition, the Federal Council has decided to launch an army relief operation by the end of March at the latest. The army had already carried out such temporary operations during the Corona crisis. Depending on the need, a maximum of 500 military personnel can be deployed, these should be spread out. They would support the SEM in setting up and running accommodation and taking care of transport. The federal government announced that up to 140 community service workers were already available to care for the refugees.

There is currently room for more than 9,000 people in federal lodging. In the medium term, 3,000 additional places for refugees are needed. By holding recruiting and cadre schools and refresher courses in other locations, the military can create some 2,100 places. “With suitable compaction measures” this capacity can be increased to 2,700 seats.

Initially, accommodation will be opened at the military bases Freiburg, Bure JU and Dübendorf ZH. Additional sleeping places will follow later in Thun BE and St. Luzisteig GR. (lha)