Chechen asylum-seekers arriving abroad, at a time when major combat operations had largely ceased. One explanation is the process of "Chechenization", which empowered former separatists Ahmed Kadyrov and his son Ramzan Kadyrov as the leaders of Chechnya (indeed, Chechen refugees indicated that they feared Chechen security forces more than Russian troops). Another explanation is that after a decade of war and lawlessness, many Chechens have given up hope of ever rebuilding a normal life at home and instead try to start a new life in exile. European Union In 2003, some 33,000 Russian citizens (over 90% of them presumed to be Chechens) applied for Asylum in the European Union (EU), according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, making them the largest group of new refugees arriving in developed nations. According to unofficial reports from January 2008, the number of Chechens in Europe may reach 70,000. According to another estimate from March 2009, there were some 130,000 Chechen refugees in Europe, including former fighters. In September 2009 Kadyrov said that Chechnya would open representative offices in Europe in an attempt to convince the Chechen migrant communities living there to return to their homeland. Austria granted asylum rights to more than 2,000 Chechen refugees in 2007, bringing the total number to 17,000 in January 2008, the largest diaspora in Europe then. As of 2018, there were some 30,000 Chechens residing in Austria. As of early 2008, some 7,000-10,000 Chechens live in Belgium, many of them in Aarschot. At least 2,000 of them were granted political asylum in 2003. In 2003, refugee camps in the Czech Republic were said to be "overwhelmed" due to an overwhelming number of Chechen refugees. As of 2009, Denmark is one of the six countries in Europe with the biggest Chechen disasporas. As of early 2008, about 10,000 Chechens live in France. The largest Chechen communities in France exist in Nice (where there were reports of sharp conflict with the immigrants from North Africa), Strasbourg and Paris (the home of the Chechen-French Center). Chechens also live in Orléans, Le Mans, Besançon, Montpellier, Toulouse and Tours. As of 2008, thousands more are trying to get to France from Poland. As of early 2008, approximately 10,000 Chechens live in Germany. In Poland, almost 3,600 Chechens have applied for refugee status in the first eight months of 2007 alone and over 6,000 in the next four months. As of