Head of German asylum office quits

The head of the German government department charged with processing applications for asylum has resigned on Thursday, citing personal reasons.

Manfred Schmidt, president of the Office for Migrants and Refugees (BAMF), had requested to be released from his duties, the Interior Ministry said.

Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere had accepted the request, the ministry said, without providing any information on a possible successor.

There has been increasing criticism of his office for failing to boost capacity in the face of the current refugee crisis.

More than 250,000 applications for asylum are currently pending.

The prime minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, noted this week that Switzerland completed the processing of applications in 48 hours, the Netherlands in 11 days, while Germany took more than five months.