The situation of migrants in the north-west of Bosnia and Herzegovina is slowly getting out of control, the local authorities warned on Monday at an extraordinary press conference.
Hundreds of migrants have reached the territory of the Una-Sana Canton (USC), which borders Croatia, finding a temporary shelter there on the way to, as they say, final destination in the western Europe. Cantonal and municipal authorities of the region have been dealing with this burning matter, urging the competent institutions at the state level to act and find a solution to the problem the canton is unable to deal with alone.
“I would like to use this opportunity to once again to urge the state bodies, who are aware that the City of Bihac has no jurisdiction here at all and that we suffer enormous damage, especially in the context of upcoming tourist season, and that this whole situation with migrants is slowly getting out of control,” said Suhret Fazlic, the Mayor of Bihac, the seat of the Una-Sana Canton Government.
He also called for a stronger engagement of police, to make the citizens feel safer in their environment.
Secretary of Bihac Red Cross Selam Tulic warned of another worrying aspect of the situation, saying that they lack resources to feed migrants. According to him, the state authorities have not allocated any money for this purpose yet.
Red Cross President Abdulah Budimlic said the migrants were coming from different Arab countries and that they demonstrated some sort of a “tribal animosities”, which is why they indulge in conflicts.
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A migrant from Morocco was killed on Friday in Velika Kladusa in what the police later reported was a knife fight. The Una-Sana Canton Prosecutor's Office confirmed that two other migrants, one from Algeria and another one from Palestine, suspected of this murder, were apprehended and interrogated, undergoing the further procedure.
The situation escalated for a few hours on Monday after a group of migrants came to the Bosnia-Croatia border, near the north-western town of Velika Kladusa, in an attempt to enter Croatia.
