Bosnia Mayor’s Threat to Migrant Camp Sparks Crisis Fears

The Bihac City Administration has informed local utility companies that it will no longer pay for services such as water delivery and garbage collection from the troubled "Vucjak" migrant camp, whose closure has been demanded by the UN among others.

"Ever since Vucjak was established, the City of Bihac has provided all kinds of services, including water delivery, through its public companies. We delivered 20,000 litres of water daily. I sent a letter to both utility companies that the city would no longer pay for it," the Mayor of Bihac, Suhret Fazlic, told the media on Monday.

The largest city in the Una-Sana Canton in northwest Bosnia has seen an influx of migrants over the past two years and has become a hotspot because of its proximity to the border with EU-member Croatia, which most migrants are trying to enter.

"We estimate that between 6,000 and 7,000 migrants are in the Una Sana Canton," Nermin Kljajic, interior minister of the Una-Sana Canton, said at a press conference on Monday.

"You know what it means to run out of the water, it's a disaster. We have to find some solution for these people," Selam Midzic, or the Bihac Red Cross, said. He said that "luckily it's nice weather", but the rain and winter will arrive soon.

The Red Cross earlier warned that closure of the already inadequate camp would likely cause a humanitarian crisis, as the camp residents would have been left without food. The Red Cross has said it has food only for another 10 days.

The Cantonal Administration for Civil Protection will provide a temporary solution for the water supply, it was agreed at a meeting of the Task Force on Migrant Crisis Management on Monday in Bihac. The Task Force requested the immediate removal of migrants from the Vucjak...