After international criticism, Bosnian military sets up tents for freezing migrants

The authorities planned to move the migrants to a former army compound in central Bosnia but the plan was rejected after protests

The migrants spent 24 hours in a convoy of buses, waiting to move, but ended up back in the fire-destroyed Lipa camp

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A migrant tries to warm himself at the Lipa camp in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday. Some thousand refugees at the camp were scheduled to be relocated from the camp on Thursday after a fire burned down most of the camp on December 23, but they were returned to Lipa camp. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:53am, 2 Jan 2021Updated: 2:33am, 2 Jan 2021

Trying to resolve a humanitarian disaster, the Bosnian military set up tents on Friday for hundreds of migrants who have been stuck in a burned refugee camp that has no facilities to fend off freezing winter weather.

Bosnia has faced international criticism for leaving some 1,000 migrants without shelter after a fire engulfed the squalid Lipa refugee camp near its northwest border with Croatia over a week ago.

The armed forces said on Friday that about 150 soldiers had arrived to put up tents for the migrants, which will be run by the International Organization for Migration.

Earlier on Friday, the migrants held a protest to highlight the horrendous conditions they are facing in Bosnia. Aid groups said hundreds of migrants rejected food and held up banners calling for international help.

Migrants protest against poor living conditions at the Lipa refugee camp outside Bihac, Bosnia. Photo: EPA-EFE

The authorities announced earlier this week that they would move the migrants from Lipa to a former army compound in central Bosnia but the plan was rejected after local residents organised protests.