Ministry of Interior and the Government of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity will be asked to move all migrants they find on the entity's territory to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity, said RS President Milorad Dodik on Wednesday.

Dodik finds it unacceptable to have the Bosnia's Council of Ministers or any other state-level institution make decisions on accommodation of migrants on territory of the RS, Bosnia's Serb-dominated semi-autonomous unit.

The RS President's statement came amid the increasing concern over the number of migrants of African-Asian origin diverting their route to their final European destinations through Bosnia.

“We will not allow accommodation of migrants either in Zaluzani (barracks) near Banja Luka or near Kalinovik, or any other place or facilities in the RS. Nobody can take decisions on that on our behalf,” he underlined.

Dodik reacted to the request of municipal authorities in Sarajevo, who asked the state Presidency to secure accommodation capacities for migrants in some of the available barracks on Bosnian territory. Heads of Sarajevo municipalities held an urgent meeting, to discuss the issue of increasing number of migrants in the Bosnian capital. 

According to the Bosnian Border Police, the number of migrants passing through the country dramatically increased during the first few months of the year and the authorities already encountered problems with the lack of accommodation capacities for incoming migrants.