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Army to help with accommodation for refugees

centre for Ukrainian refugees
More beds are needed particularly owing to the influx of refugees from Ukraine. © Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

The Swiss army will provide the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) with additional accommodation to cope with an influx of refugees and asylum seekers.

According to a government decision on FridayExternal link, a maximum of 500 military personnel will also be available until March for adaptation and operation of the military infrastructure and for transporting people. This is in addition to 140 civilian staff who can already be mobilised to help.

The government says additional resources are needed to ensure continued accommodation and support for refugees and asylum-seekers in the coming months. The SEM estimates that 3,000 additional beds will be needed in the medium term, due largely to the influx of refugees from Ukraine.  

The army will provide 2,100 more beds in military training schools by moving courses and recruits, which could be stretched to 2,700.  

SEM expects the number of refugees from Ukraine to reach around 75,000 by the end of the year and the number of asylum-seekers some 24,000.

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