A top European human rights official has demanded immediate closure of a migrant camp in Bosnia where hundreds of people have refused food and water to protest a lack of protection in snowy and cold weather.
The Vucjak camp near the northwestern town of Bihac has almost no facilities. International aid organizations have said it is unfit for migrants because it is located on a former landfill and close to a mine field from the 1992-95 war.
Click to Gallery
A top European human rights official has demanded immediate closure of a migrant camp in Bosnia where hundreds of people have refused food and water to protest a lack of protection in snowy and cold weather.
Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on Tuesday visited Vucjak where migrants had spent the night in tents braving freezing temperatures. Mijatovic says migrants must be moved to a warm and safe location.
Migrants chant as they gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Migrants gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Migrants chant as they gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Already poor conditions in the camp have worsened further after snow fell on Monday.
A migrant attempts to dry his shoes by the fire at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. A European human rights official has demanded immediate closure of a migrant camp in Bosnia where hundreds of people have started refusing food and water to protest dismal living conditions as wintry weather sets in. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on Tuesday visited Vucjak where migrants had spent the night in tents braving freezing temperatures. Mijatovic says migrants must be moved to a warm and safe location.
Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, talks to a group of migrants at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Mijatovic has demanded immediate closure of the migrant camp where hundreds of people have started refusing food and water to protest dismal living conditions as wintry weather sets in. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Migrants chant as they gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Migrants gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
Migrants chant as they gather in protest of conditions at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Despite calls for their relocation before winter, hundreds of migrants remain stuck in a make-shift tent camp in northwestern Bosnia as a spate of snowy and cold weather hit the region. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)