To support migrants and refugees enduring what it called a “humanitarian disaster” in Bosnia, the European Union has given an additional €3.5 million ($4.3m) in aid.
More than 1,700 migrants and refugees lack necessary shelter, including 800 facing freezing winter outside.
The other 900 are staying in the grounds of a now-closed reception centre in Lipa, which was recently destroyed by fire.
-
A migrant stands at Lipa camp in Bihac, Bosnia. Reuters -
The migrants were supposed to be transferred to a new location in the central part of the country, but have instead spent some 24 hours in buses before being told on Wednesday afternoon to disembark and return to the now empty camp site. AP Photo -
Migrants warm their hands on a fire at the Lipa camp, after hundreds failed to be relocated from the burnt-out tent camp in the northwest of the country. AP Photo -
Migrants walk back to the Lipa camp. AP Photo -
Migrants stretch their hands above a fire at the Lipa camp. AP Photo -
A migrant warms up at the camp. Reuters -
People stand in the burnt-out tent camp. Reuters -
A man uses a mobile phone at the camp. Reuters
“The situation in Una Sana canton is unacceptable,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. "Winter-proof accommodation is a prerequisite for humane living conditions, which need to be ensured at all times."
He urged local authorities to make existing facilities available and provide a temporary solution until Lipa is rebuilt into a permanent camp.
"The EU's humanitarian assistance will provide the people in distress with access to basic items as an immediate alleviation to their current plight," he said.
“However, long-term solutions are urgently needed. We urge the authorities not to leave people out in the cold, without access to sanitary facilities in the midst of a global pandemic."
The additional funding brings the EU’s financial assistance for migrants in Bosnia to €13.8m since 2018.
Janez Lenarcic, the European commissioner for crisis management, said the money would not be needed “if the country implemented appropriate migration management, as requested by the EU for many years”.
The assistance will see food, blankets and warm clothes given to those sleeping outside.
Brussels has often criticised the conditions that migrants endure in Bosnia, a candidate for EU membership and a major stopping point on the Balkans route to Western Europe.
