A ROW has broken out over plans to welcome a group of Syrian refugees to Scotland tomorrow after it emerged one of the terrorists killed in the Paris shootings may have entered Europe by posing as a Syrian refugee.
Home Secretary Theresa May said people arriving into Glasgow from the war-torn country will have been thoroughly vetted in an attempt to reassure the public that they do not pose a threat.
Ahmed Almuhamed, 25, blew himself up following a hostage taking in the Bataclan concert hall in which almost 90 people died. He reportedly came into Europe posing as a Syrian refugee with another of the bombers via the Greek island of Leros early last month
The death toll from Friday night's co-ordinated shootings and suicide bombings reached 132, after three more people succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Read more: The Syrian refugees building a new life in Scotland
A minute's silence was observed across the UK and the rest of Europe at 11am today in honour of the victims as an international manhunt was suspect Almuhamed's brother Salah.
The Scottish Government also issued reassurances about the group of Syrians due to fly into Glasgow. “We are working closely with the Home Office who have robust and thorough screening processes in place for refugees arriving in the UK," a spokeswoman added.
However, ministers have come under pressure not to stage a welcoming event amid fears it will hamper efforts to integrate the refugees into the community.
Social work chiefs in Glasgow and Inverclyde, who are preparing to accommodate the first of 2000 Syrians coming to Scotland, have written to Humza Yousaf, the International Development Minister, urging him to adopt a low key approach.
Police Scotland said a number of arrests were made over the weekend for alleged hate crimes.
In Monkton, Ayrshire, demonstrators clashed over plans to provide emergency housing for refugees at a local hotel.
A further 352 people were injured, 99 of them critically, when seven Islamic State gunmen, operating in three terror cells, unleashed co-ordinated attacks on a football match, a rock concert and a restaurant.
Police in Belgium made seven arrests as forces across Europe sought those connected to the killers, six of whom died after detonating suicide vests. The seventh was shot by police.
Two of the terrorists were Frenchmen living in the Belgian capital Brussels.
One of the attackers was identified as 29-year-old Frenchman Ismael Mostefai, whose links to Islamic radicalism were known about.
His father and brother have been arrested.
French police also said they were hunting a 26-year-old Belgian called Salah Abdeslam and a French man who is believed to have been directly involved in the attacks.
The man, one of three brothers believed to be involved in the killings, rented a black Volkswagen Polo used by the attackers at the Bataclan concert hall.
Theatres and museums in the French capital remained closed and hundreds of police and soldiers patrolled the streets and metro stations after President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency.
In Edinburgh, hundreds of people, including many from the French community, attended a service at St Giles Cathedral.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney, who observed a minute's silence with and Emmanuel Cocher, the consul general of France said the service was a "solemn moment for us to reflect and remember the tragedy that took place on Friday, and to remember the suffering."
The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired the Scottish Government's second resilience meeting to discuss the response to the attacks.
Arriving home at Edinburgh Airport, Christine Tudhope, 34, and Mariesha Payne, 33, hid in a cellar of the theatre, where a band had been playing, while the shooting took place, adding that they were "sitting there waiting to get shot".
As police investigated evidence that one of the killers travelled to Europe alongside Syrian refugees, seeking asylum in Serbia, leaders sought to dampen fears about the migrants.
Ms May said 20,000 Syrians due to settle in the UK were being vetted by UN officials before leaving their refugee camps. Further checks were being carried out by UK authorities, she added.
"We are ensuring that we are checking people who are coming in to the UK.
"Of course we are taking people direct from camps and that means we are taking some of the most vulnerable people," she said.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the bloc's refugee policy should not be overhauled and urged world leaders not to start treating asylum-seekers as terrorists.
In Germany, allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded stricter border controls throughout Europe.
Islamic State has claimed for the attacks were in response to French involvement in air strikes against its 'territories.'
The only British victim is Nick Alexander, 36, from Colchester, Essex, but the Foreign Office said a 'handful' of others are feared dead.
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