Australia has announced it will launch
air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group
targets in Syria within days and resettle an additional 12,000 refugees
from the deepening humanitarian and security crisis in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott also
announced Wednesday that his government will pay an additional $31m to
support 240,000 Syrians and Iraqis in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon,
and Turkey.
On Sunday, Abbott said Australia would
allocate more spaces in its 13,750 annual intake quota to those fleeing
violence in Syria, but did not plan to boost the overall intake,
sparking criticism from across the political spectrum.
The opposition Labor Party was among the critics, calling for an additional 10,000 refugees to be resettled from Syria.
After Abbott announced an even higher
figure on Wednesday, opposition leader Bill Shorten said that the plan
had bipartisan support.
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