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People try to warm themselves by an open fire in the destroyed Lipa refugee camp (photo from January 1st)
Photo:
FEHIM DEMIR / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
The European Union is providing Bosnia-Herzegovina with an additional 3.5 million euros to better accommodate hundreds of migrants.
Currently, more than 1700 people in the Bosnian canton of Una Sana are without suitable shelter, said the foreign representative Josep Borrell and civil protection commissioner Janez Lenarcic on Sunday in Brussels.
800 of them lived outdoors in winter weather, including children.
"The situation in the Canton of Una Sana is unacceptable," said Borrell.
Humane conditions must be ensured at all times.
EU humanitarian aid will provide people with essentials.
But long-term solutions are urgently needed.
"We urge the authorities not to leave people in the cold and without access to sanitation, in the middle of the global pandemic," said Borrell.
The organization Pro Asyl accused the EU of total failure due to the situation of migrants in Bosnia-Herzegovina and called for the opening of the nearby EU border.
Camp Lipa in the border area with Croatia was cleared a week ago by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) because the Bosnian authorities had not made it winter-proof.
Some young men set tents and containers on fire during the evacuation.
The transfer of the people to an old barracks then failed due to local protests.
Hundreds of people were left without shelter in winter weather until the Bosnian army set up new tents in Lipa.
Meanwhile, the CDU and SPD are arguing about accepting refugees from camps in Bosnia and Greece.
SPD parliamentary group vice Achim Post was open to this on Sunday: "What we are currently experiencing in some places on the Greek islands and in Bosnia-Herzegovina is a humanitarian emergency." Commandment of humanity. "
CDU politician Merz spoke out against the inclusion in principle.
"Above all, the entire European Union has an obligation to help the refugees in the Balkans or on the Greek islands on the spot," said the candidate for party chairmanship in the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“However, this humanitarian catastrophe cannot be resolved by saying: everyone comes to Germany.
This path is no longer open. "
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wbr / dpa