After Camp Fire, Migrants and Refugees in Bosnia Fend for Themselves

After a fire on Wednesday, some residents of the Lipa camp returned to its burned-out remains to take shelter overnight under the only remaining tent, while others set up in the surrounding forest or sought out abandoned buildings on the outskirts of the nearest town, Bihac.

"Most migrants spent the night under tents in the woods around Camp Lipa," said Silvia Maraone of the aid NGO Ipsia.

Maraone told BIRN that the Danish Refugee Council, the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, the Red Cross and others were distributing food and other necessities, "but I don't know how many they can reach."

Migrants in front of the former Lipa camp are trying to warm themselves over fire, Photo: BIRN

A temporary home to some 1,300 migrants and refugees trying to reach Western Europe, Lipa was in the process of being closed down by the IOM, which had deemed it unsuitable for the winter.

Bosnian authorities had promised to upgrade facilities to cope with the cold weather but, after repeatedly delaying the closure, the IOM went ahead on Wednesday, only for an unidentified group of migrants to start setting fire to the tents.

Left without shelter, some migrants and refugees set off in small groups for Bihac, about 30 kilometres from Lipa, on Wednesday night but were stopped by police on the outskirts of the town.

Migrants in front of the former Lipa camp that was set on fire, Photo: BIRN

Bosnia's security minister, Selmo Cikotic, said on Wednesday that, while Lipa was being readied for the winter, those staying there could be moved to the Bihac reception centre Bira, for years the largest such camp in Bosnia until it was closed by the local government in October.

Some residents of Bihac have been...