Accessibility links

Subscribe
All RFE/RL sites
site logo site logo
Previous Next
Breaking News
Photo Galleries

Migrants In Bosnia Face Freezing Winter Without Shelter

Hundreds of migrants at the Lipa camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina are stranded amid heavy snowfall after a fire destroyed much of the camp on December 23.

Bosnian authorities have failed to find new accommodations for the migrants at Lipa, located near the city of Bihac, leaving around 1,400 people stuck in the cold with no facilities or heat and only food parcels provided by aid groups to eat.
Migrants wait to be relocated during snowfall at the Lipa camp in northwestern Bosnia, near the border with Croatia on December 26.   The Lipa migrant camp near Bihac was almost entirely destroyed by a fire that broke out on December 23, with many former residents left with nowhere to go. 
1 Migrants wait to be relocated during snowfall at the Lipa camp in northwestern Bosnia, near the border with Croatia on December 26.  

The Lipa migrant camp near Bihac was almost entirely destroyed by a fire that broke out on December 23, with many former residents left with nowhere to go. 
Migrants walk through the snow at the burnt-out Lipa camp on December 26.  The temporary tent camp at Lipa was opened on April 21, and was intended for men only. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 1,359 migrants were housed at the camp.  
2 Migrants walk through the snow at the burnt-out Lipa camp on December 26. 

The temporary tent camp at Lipa was opened on April 21, and was intended for men only. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 1,359 migrants were housed at the camp.

 
A policeman pushes migrants as they wait to be relocated at the Lipa camp on December 26. The camp was to be closed on December 23 and relocated. However, officials said the move had to be postponed since the camp was almost entirely destroyed in the fire. Bosnia has become a bottleneck for thousands of migrants hoping to reach neighboring European Union member Croatia and then head toward other Western EU members.
3 A policeman pushes migrants as they wait to be relocated at the Lipa camp on December 26. The camp was to be closed on December 23 and relocated. However, officials said the move had to be postponed since the camp was almost entirely destroyed in the fire.

Bosnia has become a bottleneck for thousands of migrants hoping to reach neighboring European Union member Croatia and then head toward other Western EU members.
A migrant looks for belongings at the camp after the fire. Lipa was a temporary reception center, but when local authorities in September 2020 closed another camp, Bira in Bihac, which could sleep around 3,000 people, about 300 people from Bira were sent to Lipa, which was already overcrowded. Bira was closed, according to local authorities, because the it posed a security and health risk.
4 A migrant looks for belongings at the camp after the fire.

Lipa was a temporary reception center, but when local authorities in September 2020 closed another camp, Bira in Bihac, which could sleep around 3,000 people, about 300 people from Bira were sent to Lipa, which was already overcrowded. Bira was closed, according to local authorities, because the it posed a security and health risk.
Migrants warm their feet by a fire at the camp.
5 Migrants warm their feet by a fire at the camp.
6
A resident walks through the snow at the camp. The fire in Lipa broke out after the IOM, due to the lack of a decision by the authorities on finding accommodation for migrants, began withdrawing from the camp on December 23. That left around 1,400 men stranded in a squalid, burnt-out tent camp in Bosnia as heavy snow fell.
7 A resident walks through the snow at the camp. The fire in Lipa broke out after the IOM, due to the lack of a decision by the authorities on finding accommodation for migrants, began withdrawing from the camp on December 23. That left around 1,400 men stranded in a squalid, burnt-out tent camp in Bosnia as heavy snow fell.
Migrants sit in a temporary shelter at the Lipa camp. Despite the fire, Bosnian authorities have failed to find new accommodations for the migrants at Lipa. State officials blame local authorities for being unwilling to open the Bira camp again, so they could have time to prepare Lipa for the long-term housing of migrants.
8 Migrants sit in a temporary shelter at the Lipa camp.

Despite the fire, Bosnian authorities have failed to find new accommodations for the migrants at Lipa. State officials blame local authorities for being unwilling to open the Bira camp again, so they could have time to prepare Lipa for the long-term housing of migrants.
A cooking place in a temporary shelter at the Lipa camp Aid organizations are bringing food, but there is no heat for cooking or water in the tent.
9 A cooking place in a temporary shelter at the Lipa camp

Aid organizations are bringing food, but there is no heat for cooking or water in the tent.
A temporary shelter at the Lipa camp 
10 A temporary shelter at the Lipa camp 
Since the beginning of 2017, Bosnia has faced a migrant crisis. There are five migrant centers: Miral and Sedra in the northwest, Usivak and Blazuj in the Sarajevo region, and Salakovac near Mostar in the south. According to the Security Ministry, there are around 10,000 migrants in Bosnia. Around 6,000 of them are in camps and reception centers, and an estimated 3,500 living on the street or in squats without adequate shelter.
11 Since the beginning of 2017, Bosnia has faced a migrant crisis. There are five migrant centers: Miral and Sedra in the northwest, Usivak and Blazuj in the Sarajevo region, and Salakovac near Mostar in the south. According to the Security Ministry, there are around 10,000 migrants in Bosnia. Around 6,000 of them are in camps and reception centers, and an estimated 3,500 living on the street or in squats without adequate shelter.
Migrants walk through the snow at the Lipa camp. Some live in squats in the woods around Bihac.
12 Migrants walk through the snow at the Lipa camp. Some live in squats in the woods around Bihac.
Bosnian Security Minister Selmo Cikotic said that his ministry had made a plan to relocate temporary reception centers for migrants from urban and populated areas. "The plan is to build a reception center for migrants at the Lipa location, for which the Council of Ministers has provided 5,000,000 KM (256,000 euros) and 500,000 euros from the European Commission, while several embassies have promised concrete assistance in equipping the center," he said after the fire at Lipa.
13 Bosnian Security Minister Selmo Cikotic said that his ministry had made a plan to relocate temporary reception centers for migrants from urban and populated areas.

"The plan is to build a reception center for migrants at the Lipa location, for which the Council of Ministers has provided 5,000,000 KM (256,000 euros) and 500,000 euros from the European Commission, while several embassies have promised concrete assistance in equipping the center," he said after the fire at Lipa.
14
15
16x9 Image

RFE/RL

RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

XS
SM
MD
LG