Bosnia to Return Migrants to Bihac Despite Opposition

About 1,000 migrants and refugees who have lingered at the site of the burned camp will now over-winter in what was formerly the largest migrant centre in Bosnia.

The decision concludes a several-day search for solutions to the emergency situation that arose after migrants torched the Lipa camp as it was about to close.

The preferred option was the former Bradina barracks not far from the town of Konjic. However, after the migrants and refugees had spent more than 24 hours in buses, ready to leave for Bradin, protests by local authorities and citizens forced the plan to be abandoned.

The latest attempt at relocation, however, will not go smoothly either. Local authorities in Bihac have not agreed to the return of migrants and refugees to the reception centre located near the city centre. In recent months, locals have staged daily protests in front of Bira, preventing transports there.

Lipa was temporary home to some 1,300 migrants and refugees trying to reach Western Europe. It was in the process of being closed down by the International Organization for Migration, IOM, which had supplied most of the services, and deemed it unsuitable for winter weather.

Bosnia's authorities had promised to upgrade facilities to cope with the cold weather and supply utilities and road access.

But nothing was done and, after repeatedly delaying closure, the IOM went ahead on Wednesday last week - only for an unidentified group of migrants to start setting fire to the tents.

Bosnia's authorities have since pledged to adapt Lipa for winter weather, but, until the work is complete, migrants and refugees need to be temporarily housed somewhere.

Several hundred migrants and refugees with nowhere to go have remained at the site of...

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