Hundreds of migrants have been exposed to falling temperatures and heavy snow after their tent camp in Bosnia was destroyed by fire earlier this week.
The stranded migrants at the Lipa camp in northwest Bosnia were reportedly without shelter after authorities failed to find new accommodation, and were attempting to shield themselves from the elements with only blankets and sleeping bags.
“Snow has fallen, sub-zero temperatures, no heating, nothing,” the International Organization for Migration’s chief of mission in Bosnia, Peter Van Der Auweraert, wrote in a tweet. “This is not how anyone should live. We need political bravery and action now.”
Food parcels provided by aid groups were one of the few resources available to the some 1,000 migrants.
The onset of cold weather came after fire earlier this week destroyed much of the camp, which lies near Bosnia’s border with EU-member Croatia. The camp in Bosnia, which harbors thousands of migrants hoping to reach Western Europe, had previously come under criticism for inadequate facilities.
The EU has warned Bosnia that migrants face freezing conditions and has urged the country’s politicians to take action to accommodate them.