Australia pledges to take in more Syrian refugees

Abbott's announcement on Sunday follows growing pressure from senior members within his own party to aid the refugee crisis in Europe.

"We are proposing to take more people from this region as part of our very substantial commitment to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees," Abbott said.

The increase in Syrian refugees will not lift the overall intake of refugees that Australia already takes from around the world, Abbott added.

Despite declining to specify how many more refugees would be accepted, Abbott reiterated that Australia accepted almost 4,500 refugees from Iraq and Syria last year, adding that they were "prepared to take significant numbers this year given the ongoing crisis and its scale."

The focus will be on families, women and children residing in camps "on the edges of Syria," Abbott said, particularly those from persecuted minorities.

Between July 2014 and June 2015, Australia took in 13,750 refugees from around the world. The total annual intake of refugees is due to increase to 18,750 by 2018.

Air strikes debate

Abbott's comments on Sunday came days after he called for tougher policies to prevent asylum seekers.

Under Canberra's current immigration policy, asylum seekers arriving by boat are sent to Pacific island camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea and blocked from resettling in Australia, even if they are found to be refugees.

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton is due to fly to Geneva on Sunday night to discuss with the United Nations on how Australia can help.

In addition to stepping up its humanitarian response, Canberra is also due to decide within the week whether to join airstrikes against "Islamic State" (IS) fighters in Syria. Australia has been part of the same operation in Iraq since last year.

ksb/bk (AFP, Reuters, dpa)