The migrant camp ‘Lipa’ in Bosnia’s northwest will definitely close down on Wednesday, the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) told N1.

The camp was initially set to close down last weekend but the closure was postponed several times, as the country’s state-level authorities were expected to find a solution to the accommodation of more than 1,300 migrants currently staying in this improvised settlement.

The IOM said that migrants can no longer stay in the camp due to the lack of electricity and overall bad conditions.

Although the state government, formally the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina officially approved on Monday the forming of temporary migrant camp ‘Lipa’, which would consist of adapted shipping containers able to house 1,500 migrants in the Bihac area, the IOM said the potential works in the camp cannot be conducted while the migrants are in there.

And while the migrant shelter is about the close, the locals in the nearby town Bihac reject potential reopening of the ‘Bira’ camp that was closed in late September under their pressure, as they complained about security issues over the increased presence of migrants in their neighbourhoods.

“We will not allow that and, believe me, there will be more and more of us here,” said Fadil Dizdarevic, one of the locals who gathered last night to reiterate they will not allow the reopening of any migrant settlement in the town.