Australia has resettled 10,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the Middle East

CANBERRA—More than 10,000 of the 12,000 Syrian refugees Australia pledged to take from the war-torn nation have been successfully resettled, according to local media on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will officially announce the news at the Australian Migration Settlement Awards at Parliament House on Wednesday night, but News Corp has reported that 10,000 of those promised a place in Australia had arrived, with the remaining refugees ‘on the way’.

It has taken some time for the refugees to be brought into Australia, as the government wanted to ensure all background checks successful to prevent any radicalized fighters from gaining entrance into Australia, the report said.

While the majority of the 10,000 already settled are living in New South Wales after that state’s Premier announced he would take those fleeing the war, all 12,000 visas have been issued,

According to the News Corp report, a significant proportion of the 12,000 Syrians are Christians fleeing persecution, though Turnbull is not expected to make comment about the religion of those already resettled.

When the government announced it would take an additional influx of refugees on top of its annual intake, the PM did say priority would be given to ‘persecuted minorities’.

It is expected that all 12,000 refugees will be resettled in Australia by the middle of the year.