Fire breaks out in Bosnia migrant centre during its closure

A fire that broke out on Wednesday at a migrant centre in northwestern Bosnia housing about 1,200 people was believed to have been set by migrants displeased with the temporary closure of the camp, a United Nations official said. No casualties were reported. The Lipa camp was set to be shut on Wednesday for winter refurbishing, but Bosnia's authorities have failed to find alternative accommodation for its 1,200 residents.

A fire that broke out on Wednesday at a migrant centre in northwestern Bosnia housing about 1,200 people was believed to have been set by migrants displeased with the temporary closure of the camp, a United Nations official said. Police in the Bihac region confirmed their forces and firefighters were heading to the Lipa camp, located some 25 km away from the town, but could not provide details. No casualties were reported.

The Lipa camp was set to be shut on Wednesday for winter refurbishing, but Bosnia's authorities have failed to find alternative accommodation for its 1,200 residents. The migrants will be left to join about 1,500 others sleeping rough in cold weather in the region bordering the European Union member, Croatia. About 10,000 migrants from Asia, Middle East and North Africa have been stuck in Bosnia, on their way to the wealthier EU countries.

"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," Peter Van der Auweraert, head of the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) that is running migrant camps in Bosnia, said in a Twitter post. "Luckily, no casualties to our knowledge at this point," he added.

Local web portal Klix reported that the fire broke out first in the section of the Lipa camp where oil and generators for electric power production had been stored. It published pictures showing black smoke above white tents. Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations mission in Bosnia expressed its concern over the lack of a political solution for the camp's winter preparation.