Migrants in Bosnia face dire cold after camp burns down

Hundreds of migrants stranded in northwestern Bosnia have spent a fourth night in freezing temperatures and squalid conditions, after the camp that housed them burned down. The UN and other international aid groups are urgently appealing to the authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide alternative shelter for the migrants. They say people could die if they don’t act soon.
They were already living in misery. Then things got worse. Freezing temperatures, no heat in a big tent, and just plastic sheeting for a roof – One that threatens to cave in from snow piling up on top. Some people here say they aren’t even being regularly fed.
About 12 hundred refugees were relocated because their former camp burned down a few days ago. The fire allegedly set by frustrated occupants. Located near Bosnia’s border with Croatia, the UN camp at Lipa was scheduled to be closed because Bosnian authorities allegedly ignored its appeals to help restore basic services. The cold weather froze showers and toilets weeks ago.
Bosnia has become a bottleneck for thousands of migrants hoping to reach Western Europe. Those here try to get into the nearest E-U country – Croatia – though, Croatian authorities have been loath to allow them entry and usually push back.
For now, there’s still no solution in sight for these migrants who are in dire need of help.