The Bosnian government has said a makeshift tent camp in the northwest of the country would be closed within days, following harsh international criticism of the improper conditions hundreds of migrants are being kept in.
Aid groups have repeatedly cautioned that the makeshift camp is located on a former landfill and close to a minefield from Bosnia's 1992-95 war, and has no running water or toilets. Living conditions worsened further after snow fell this week.
Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektic said on December 6 that the occupants of the Vucjak camp on the border with Croatia will be relocated to other camps outside the region.
"It was agreed that migrants would be moved early next week from this locality to other reception centers...and that this makeshift camp would be closed," the Security Ministry said in a statement.
The announcement comes after Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, visited Vucjak this week and warned that deaths would be imminent if the camp was not closed at once. "If we don't close the camp today, tomorrow people will start dying here," Mijatovic told reporters while visiting the snow-covered camp.
On December 6, Mijatovic told a news conference in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, that it is now urgent to relocate the migrants and provide them with "decent accommodation."
“Many people lack adequate clothing and footwear,'' she said. "It is inhumane and unacceptable to keep people in such conditions.''
Mijatovic also voiced concern about migrants' reports of violent pushbacks by Croatian police -- allegations that Zagreb has flatly denied.
"I was particularly alarmed by stories of migrants being beaten and stripped of their belongings, including their shoes, and forced to walk across rough terrain to return back to Bosnia and Herzegovina," Mijatovic said.
However, some migrants said that despite snow and freezing weather, they will refuse to be moved farther away from the border. Most migrants flocked to the northwestern part of Bosnia because they want to continue their journey to Western Europe's more prosperous countries by illegally passing through European Union member Croatia.
Bosnian authorities have struggled to accommodate thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Migrants come into Bosnia from neighboring Serbia or Montenegro.
Bosnia To Close Makeshift Migrant Camp, Some Refuse To Leave
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Harris Or Trump: What Will It Mean For Ukraine?
2Exclusive: Early Peace Plan Shows Russia's Intent To Neutralize Ukraine
3Israel's Attack On Iran Has Left Tehran Offensively And Defensively Weaker
414 Dead In Roof Collapse At Railway Station In Serbia's Novi Sad
5Russia Shows Off Purported U.S. National Snatched From Ukraine Spy Work
6Ukraine Live Briefing: Russia Targets Zaporizhzhya
7Pro-Western Sandu Wins Second Term As Moldovan President
8Amnesty Calls For Release Of Iranian Woman Who Removed Clothes In Protest
9Pentagon Announces New Deployments To Middle East In Warning To Iran
10U.S. Warns Iran It Can't 'Hold Israel Back' If New Attack Launched, Axios Reports
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.