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European Official Urges Closure of Bosnian Migrant Camp


Migrants wait in line for a warm meal at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Nov. 20, 2019.
Migrants wait in line for a warm meal at the Vucjak refugee camp outside Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, Nov. 20, 2019.

A top European human rights official has demanded immediate closure of a migrant camp in Bosnia where hundreds of people have refused food and water to protest a lack of protection in snowy and cold weather.

The Vucjak camp near the northwestern town of Bihac has almost no facilities. International aid organizations have said it is unfit for migrants because it is located on a former landfill and close to a mine field from the 1992-95 war.

Already poor conditions in the camp have worsened further after snow fell on Monday.

Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on Tuesday visited Vucjak where migrants had spent the night in tents braving freezing temperatures. Mijatovic says migrants must be moved to a warm and safe location.

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