BERLIN - Austria will support Syrians who want to return now that rebels have seized Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad has fled, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday.

       "The fall of the Assad regime is changing the overall situation in Syria. The country now needs its citizens," Nehammer posted on social media platform X.

       "We will support everyone, who wants to return to their homeland," he added.

       The Austrian government had on Monday said it had paused the processing of asylum applications by Syrians.

       Nehammer, of the conservative People's Party (OVP) which has a hard line on immigration, is in coalition talks with two other parties to form a government after an election in September.

       A public backlash against an influx of Syrians fleeing civil war during the migration crisis of 2015-2016 continues to fuel support for Austria's far right and conservatives. REUTERS