The Council of Ministers of B&H has made a decision on the establishment of a temporary center for accommodation of migrants "Lipa" near Bihać. The decision, which was expected much earlier, defined that the tents will be replaced by prefabricated container-type facilities, and the total capacity of the center will be 1,500 people.

Difficult conditions

However, after the decision on the establishment of "Lipa", the Ministry of Security of B&H sent a proposal to the authorities of Una-Sana Canton to temporarily open the center "Bira" until all construction works for the establishment of a new center are completed.

- That proposal was rejected and by doing so, the USC government should take full responsibility for not accepting the proposal to open "Bira" and the new situation because more than 1,000 migrants will be on the streets of the USC and thus create a humanitarian and security crisis for the local population.

This position of the Ministry of Security, headed by Minister Selmo Cikotić, was assessed by the Mayor of Bihać, Šuhret Fazlić, as unprincipled, inconsistent and hypocritical.

- They are asking us to allow "Bira", and at the same time the Council of Ministers is voting against the opening of the center in Živinice. One center "Borići", another hotel "Sedra", the third "Lipa", are now looking for "Bira". The European Union is doing the same, the complete responsibility is shifting to us. We will not allow the opening of "Bira" because then in a month "Bira" and "Lipa" would be full and there would be 1,000 migrants around "Bira" - said Fazlić.

By the way, no one knows how hundreds of migrants who live in "Lipa" in very difficult conditions until the construction of new facilities will survive.

No electricity

The next move of the IOM is expected, but the decision of the Council of Ministers was welcomed as a precondition for a big job to be completed before the rains. The manager of the "Lipa" camp, Nataša Omerović, reminds that it was a tent center at about 1,400 meters above sea level. It occasionally housed up to 1,600 migrants, but currently has 1,307.

- The construction of the camp was not even made to withstand the winter. No power supply, six aggregates work 24 hours a day. We are not connected to the water supply network. At the moment, there is a fear that there will be precipitation, that the tents will collapse and someone will be killed - Omerović points out.