A large fire broke out at the migrant camp Lipa in northwestern BiH on Wednesday as it is about to be closed down, leaving more than 1,300 migrants staying there without shelter.
The camp was initially set to close down last weekend but the closure was postponed several times, as the country’s state-level authorities were expected to find a solution to the accommodation of more than 1,300 migrants currently staying in this improvised settlement.
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But according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the camp will definately be shut down on Wednesday.
Migrants staying at Lipa have no access to electricity, running water or sewage. The camp also provides no adequate protection against winter weather conditions.
Although the Bosnia’s government, formally the Council of Ministers, officially approved on Monday the forming of the temporary migrant camp ‘Lipa’, which would consist of adapted shipping containers able to house 1,500 migrants in the Bihac area, the IOM said the potential works in the camp cannot be conducted while the migrants are in there.
Locals in the nearby town of Bihac reject the potential reopening of the ‘Bira’ camp that was closed in late September in order to keep migrants away from urban areas.
