The number of migrants and refugees staying outdoors due to the arrival of cold weather in Bosnia continues to grow due to the constant refusal of various levels of government to coordinate work and turn to rational solutions, said the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in the country Peter Van Der Auweraert.

He told the AP that some local authorities in Bosnia, instead of helping the agency expand accommodation for migrants, are now restricting access to available facilities.

Out of about 8,500 migrants in the country, 2,500 were forced to sleep in the open, in illegal accommodations, in forests, streets and abandoned buildings, mostly in the northwest, near the border with Croatia.

Van Der Auweraert, who is the coordinator for the Western Balkans and IOM's representative in Bosnia, pointed out that it is absolutely unnecessary for migrants to live in such conditions, because the Organization has resources, mainly from the EU, to provide care for these people.

“I have a centre for 1,500 people. The local authorities only allow me to accommodate 500. I could remove 1,000 people from the street to the centre tomorrow, but I am not allowed to do so,” Van Der Auweraert stressed.

The AP points out that representatives of local authorities in the country were not available to comment on the claims of the IOM coordinator.
Van Der Auweraert noted that Bosnia has several weeks to come together and rationally decide to face the current migration situation.

“If we don't do that, we will have a humanitarian crisis in a month, people will sleep in the snow, including families and children this time,” Van Der Auweraert added.