Military erects tents for migrants trapped in burnt-out, freezing Bosnian camp

About 150 soldiers arrived to put up tents for the migrants

epa08914508 Bosnian soldiers set up new tents for migrants at the Lipa camp in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 01 January 2021. Some thousand refugees at the camp were scheduled to be relocated from the burnt-down tent camp on 31 December, yet were returned to Lipa camp. A fire on 23 December destroyed most of the camp near the city of Bihac, which has already been sharply criticized by international authorities and aid groups as unsuitable for accommodating refugees and migrants. EPA/FEHIM DEMIR

Bosnian soldiers set up new tents for migrants at the Lipa camp. EPA

Jan 01, 2021

The Bosnian military has set up tents for hundreds of migrants living in the ruins of a burnt out refugee camp after humanitarian agencies warned of an impending disaster.
Freezing temperatures and a lack of facilities threatened the lives of the migrants still forced to live in the Lipa camp.
Bosnia has faced international criticism for leaving the migrants without shelter after fire engulfed the Lipa refugee camp near its northwest border with Croatia more than a week ago.
Aleksander Panic, Red Cross head of emergency operations for Bosnia-Herzegovina, told The National on Thursday that about 700 migrants were in limbo.

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"The situation is very bad. Winters in Bosnia are very harsh, especially that region," he said.
"Lipa is known to be a very windy place. A humanitarian disaster is just before us."
About 150 soldiers arrived on Friday to put up tents for the migrants, which will be run by the International Organisation for Migration, the military said.

Migrants also staged a protest to on Friday to highlight the horrendous conditions they are facing in Bosnia.

epa08914500 Migrants Protest against poor living conditions at Camp Lipa in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 01 January 2021. Some thousand refugees at the camp were scheduled to be relocated from the burnt-down tent camp on 31 December, yet were returned to Lipa camp. A fire on 23 December destroyed most of the camp near the city of Bihac, which has already been sharply criticized by international authorities and aid groups as unsuitable for accommodating refugees and migrants. EPA/FEHIM DEMIR — Migrants staged a protest against the conditions they are being force to live in. EPA

A man warms up around a fire in Bosnia as authorities in the country debate where to move migrants from Camp Lipa, which burnt down. Reuters

Migrants stranded in freezing temperatures in Bosnia

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Aid groups said hundreds of migrants rejected food and held up banners calling for international help.
"It is the problem of no humanity. Just food is not enough, like showering, like accommodation, beds, mattresses, mostly people are (have) diseases, you know better, like corona(virus)," said Khan, a migrant from Pakistan

Bosnian authorities announced earlier this week that they would move the migrants from Lipa to a former army compound in central Bosnia but plan was rejected after local residents organised protests.

The migrants spent 24 hours in a convoy of buses, waiting to move, but ended up back in the burnt-out Lipa camp instead. For the past two nights, they have lit fires to warm up at the muddy camp site.
Camp Lipa opened last spring as a temporary shelter for the summer and was due to close on Wednesday for winter refurbishment.

The shelter, which housed about 1,200 people, was destroyed by fire on December 23.

It was criticised by UN officials for lacking basic amenities, such as running water and heating.