The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), one of the two semi-autonomous entities in the country, has made a military barrack near Sarajevo available to migrants who keep arriving in the country on their way toward Western Europe.

The Federation, the entity shared by Bosniaks and Croats, has on Wednesday decided to allow the state government to use the Usivak barracks to accommodate the migrants for free.  

The building is not suitable for the country’s Armed Forces and it had already in 2005 been given to the Sarajevo Canton to accommodate its Red Cross.  

The decision was made due to the massive influx of migrants into Bosnia that started at the beginning of this year and which the country was not prepared for as it lacks accommodation capacities for refugees and foreigners who intend to seek asylum. The capacities that were available to Bosnia’s Security Ministry are already full, so additional accommodation was needed for migrants who occupied parks and other public places.  

The matter is urgent as many of the migrants are vulnerable. Minors, women and families with children must be taken care of according to the Law on Asylum, the Law on Foreigners and other rules.  

The state Government will cover all the maintenance and living costs during the migrants’ stay in the Usivak barracks.  

Speaking before the state Parliament on Wednesday, Security Minister Dragan Mektic said some 6,500 migrants entered the country since the beginning of the year but 4,000 of them have already left the country.