The number of people applying for asylum in industrialized countries rose in 2013 to the highest number in more than a decade, increased to a large extent by Syrians seeking refuge in the West, the United Nations refugee agency reported Thursday. More than 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe and East Asia and the Pacific, according to the agency's Asylum Trends report, an increase of 28 percent over 2012. Most left countries experiencing violent conflict, with Syria topping the list, said Volker Turk, the refugee agency's director of international protection, in Geneva. Close to 485,000 people, or 80 percent of all applicants, sought asylum in European countries in 2013, particularly in Germany and Sweden, while nearly 100,000 applicants, or 16 percent tried to get to the United States and Canada.
