EU allocates 3.5 million to aid migrants after fire in Bosnian camp | NOW

The European Union will allocate 3.5 million euros for humanitarian aid to migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, following a fire that recently destroyed a migrant camp there. According to Johann Sattler, the European envoy in the country, the situation of the inhabitants of the camp is “totally unacceptable”.

The money is intended to “provide assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants facing a humanitarian disaster in Bosnia”. This is in addition to the 4.5 million euros allocated to Bosnia from Brussels in April last year, the European Commission reported in a statement on Sunday.

Since a fire on December 23 destroyed the migrant camp near the Bosnian town of Bihac, thousands of migrants have been left without suitable shelter in cold and rainy weather. “The situation is unacceptable. Accommodation suitable for winter is essential for human living conditions, which must be guaranteed at all times,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in the statement.

Borrell insists that the camp be rebuilt and that local authorities meanwhile provide temporary shelter for homeless migrants.

The European Commission, which funds several migrant camps in Bosnia, has called for the opening of a new refuge in Bihac. However, local and regional authorities oppose it. For example, in October, a reception center in an abandoned factory was closed under pressure from local residents.