REFUGEES fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria must be allowed to settle in Scotland away from the glare of publicity, council chiefs have urged.
About a third of the 1000 Syrian refugees due to arrive in Britain before Christmas will come to Scotland.
Humza Yousaf, the SNP's international development minister, welcomed the news as a "great symbol of our compassion".
Refugees are expected to start arriving in Glasgow, Stirling and Argyll, where homes will be provided on the Isle of Bute, over the next few weeks.
Sources at Glasgow Council, which will welcome the largest number, stressed the importance of accommodating people discreetly.
"These people have been traumatised.
"A welcoming party at the airport could be as bad a baying mob," said one senior official.
The refugees will be helped by social workers.
They will be provided with housing and registered with a GP within 24 hours of their arrival.
Children will also be registered with local schools.
The Home Office programme provides funds for people to feed themselves and support to help them find work.
The number and identities of the refugees travelling from camps to Glasgow has not yet been confirmed by the Home Office, sources said.
One source told The Herald: "They are vulnerable, hurting people.
"The last thing we should be doing is pointing an arrow at them.
"We will take steps not to reveal when they are coming and where they going to live.
"We take the view we should be doing as much as we can to support them without identifying them as refugees."
More than 50 refugees from the civil war were settled in Glasgow last year.
In the long term Scotland will accommodate about 2000 of the 20,000 Syrians coming to Britain.
The first of them began arriving in September but Glasgow council has declined to comment on whether any are living in the city.
Mr Yousaf undertook a high profile visit to Greece last month when he helped refugees landing by boat on the island of Lesbos.
He has also chaired a taskforce bringing together councils and other agencies to prepare for the arrival of the refugees in Scotland.
He said: "Scotland's response to the humanitarian crisis has been phenomenal and we have been working to ensure we provide a very warm welcome to those who come to Scotland seeking protection, safety and security.
"Of the refugees expected to arrive in the UK before Christmas, Scotland is expected to take around one third and this is testament to the work of the taskforce, local authorities and many other partner organisations to ensure we are ready - and we are ready."
Pressure to admit more refugees to the UK grew after images of those fleeing Syria and other war-torn regions to reach Europe hit the headlines.
David Cameron has said the UK will not be involved in any European Union refugee quota system or help with the thousands of refugees already in Europe.
Instead, the Prime Minister has said the UK will take 20,000 refugees from camps over the next five years.
The Syrians are living in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey after fleeing their homeland.
Almost three million people have fled across the country's borders to escape the civil war that has engulfed the country in the past four years.
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