A group of migrants set fire to the Lipa migrant camp in northwestern Bosnia after most of the other migrants already left the camp which is being closed down on Wednesday, according to the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Peter Van Der Auweraert.
As for now, it seems that there were no casualties, the IOM official tweeted, calling the new development a “disaster.”
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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.
Disaster upon disaster in #Lipa #Bihac #BiH – as far as we know now a group of former residents put three tents and containers on fire after most of the migrants had left the camp. Luckily no casualties to our knowledge at this point but disaster nevertheless @UNmigration @UN_BiH pic.twitter.com/Ro7vtUFkcy
— Peter Van der Auweraert (@PeterAuweraert) December 23, 2020
Migrants staying at Lipa had no access to electricity, running water or sewage. The camp also provided no adequate protection against winter weather conditions.
Although 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 still there.
Locals in the nearby town Bihac, however, reject the potential reopening of the ‘Bira’ camp that was closed in late September in order to keep migrants away from urban areas.
