"This puts already vulnerable people in an even worse situation," Annika Flensburg, spokeswoman for the Swedish branch of Amnesty, told news agency TT.

Sweden decided last week to put on hold any asylum decisions concerning Iraqi refugees. The only exception will be made for minors who arrive in Sweden unaccompanied and will be granted permanent residency status.

The Board of Immigration has said that all other cases will continue to be investigated in the meantime, but no final decisions will be taken until the outcome of the war is known. It argued that the outcome would determine if there was cause for asylum.

"But nobody knows how long the war is going to last or what is going to happen after the war is over. It could take a long time before the situation in the country is safe enough for people to really return," Madelaine Seidlitz, in charge of Swedish Amnesty's refugee division, said in comments posted on the group's website.

"This is the equivalent of putting the lives of vulnerable people on hold. The Board of Immigration should make a decision on each individual case depending on how the situation is now, not how it could be," Flensburg said.

She said the agency's decision was inconsistent and surprising, noting that before the war broke out Sweden sent Iraqis back to northern Iraq on the grounds that the situation there was safe at the time.

Last year, an average of 105 Iraqis sought asylum in Sweden every week. In recent weeks, the number has been somewhat lower, according to statistics.

The Board of Immigration said it would consider reviewing its position if the war against Iraq were to drag on. "We hope this will be only a short period," it said in a statement.

WAR.WIRE