Paris attacks: Syrian refugees put shootings in French capital in perspective

More than 200,000 people are believed to have been killed since Syria descended into war in early 2011 - but far from creating empathy for the plight of those fleeing Isis in their homelands, the deaths of 129 in the French capital have led Europe's right to call for an end to refugee intakes altogether

Refugees cross the border from Greece to Macedonia near the village of Idomeni (GETTY)

Amid reports that one of the Paris attackers travelled to Europe hidden on a refugee boat, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for an “immediate halt” to France’s intake of asylum-seekers.

For those travelling to seek a better life for themselves and their families, it appears fears a backlash against genuine asylum-seekers have been realised.

Border controls already hardening in the midst of the unprecedented refugee crisis are being shut altogether across Belgium, Italy and France.

And while those measures are in part to prevent the escape of those who planned and helped carry out the attacks on the French capital, political leaders in Poland, Latvia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have issued statements linking the attacks to the numbers arriving.

The European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has warned Europe against confusing refugees and terrorists, asking the public not to “give in to such basic reactions”.

And speaking to the AFP News Agency, a Syrian refugee named Ghaled said he wished the empathy for the scores killed Paris could be translated to empathy for the hundreds of thousands dead in his home country.

Visiting the French embassy in Berlin to pay his respects, he said he feared “mistrust” of Arabs across Europe would now turn to “hate”.

“What’s happening to them is happening every day in Syria... so we know what that means,” the 22-year-old said.

Those who attacked Paris were “criminals”, Mr Juncker said at the G20 summit in Turkey, “not refugees, not asylum seekers”.

“Those who organised these attacks and those that perpetrated them are exactly those that the refugees are fleeing and not the opposite,” he said.

In Lucé, a suburb of the French town of Chartes with a significant Muslim community, mosque official Ismail Snussi told The Independent he was “fearful for what comes next”.

Osmar Ismail Mostefai, the first gunman identified by police in the aftermath of the shooting, attended the mosque in Luce until two years ago before he disappeared.

“What he did was not part of Islam,” Mr Snussi said. “Our true religion really is one of peace and co-existence, but now I’m fearful for what comes next. We’re concerned about a crackdown, from the state, the police, and the press. We may become the focus of people’s anger.”

More than 200,000 Syrians have been killed since the start of the country's civil war in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Amnesty International UK’s Syria Campaign Manager Kristyan Benedict told The Independent that it was “no secret” the vast majority of civilian deaths there were at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

“It’s important that ISIS’s many crimes are properly documented and the perpetrators brought to justice, she said. “But the far bigger killing machine in Syria is the one made in Damascus.”