More than 9,000 migrants are currently staying in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to official data, with some 3,000 of them in the open, outside the official reception centres.

Migrant centres in Sarajevo Canton provided shelter for 4,105 migrants, some 3,000 in Blazuj and the rest in Usivak barracks, both near the Bosnian capital.

Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia's northwest, hosts 1,767 migrants in three camps – Miral, Borici and Sedra, while around one thousand of them are accommodated in the Lipa camp, which has been just recently adjusted to winter conditions.

“3,000 of those who live in the open are the problem,” said Peter Van der Auwerater, the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) chief for Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that most of them are finding shelter in abandoned buildings and houses in Bosnia's northwestern region.

During 2020, Bosnia and Herzegovina registered 16,190 migrants on its territory, with 670 of them illegally crossing the country's eastern borders in December despite extreme winter conditions.

The Service for Foreigners’ Affairs issued deportation orders for 1,244 foreigners, expelling 135 migrants to Serbia based on readmission rules.

In terms of structure, the majority of migrants are single adult men.

During 2020, the authorities recorded 25 deaths among the migrants of which 13 originated from Pakistan, nine from Morocco and one each from Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan.

The total of 222 criminal acts involving migrants was reported in the period January-September 2020, according to the IOM's data.

However, the local authorities are warning that those crimes involving the migrants are on the rise, including 11 murders in Sarajevo Canton.