Hundreds of Bosnians took to the streets Sunday to protest against potential security and health risks posed by migrants sleeping rough in the western town of Bihac. While Bosnia was mostly spared from the migrant crisis of 2015, locals are not happy that they must care for migrants now.
Several hundred Bosnians protested against a large number of migrants in the western town of Bihac, saying the build-up must dissipate.
Around 6,000 migrants are in Bihac and Velika Kladusa, two towns bordering Croatia, but only about 3,500 have been sheltered in four transit centers there. Others sleep in parks and abandoned buildings.
“I came here to express dissatisfaction with the situation politicians have brought upon both us and migrants,” Maja Tabakovic said at Sunday’s rally. “The whole town is feeling insecure.”
About 25,000 people from Asia and northern Africa entered Bosnia via Serbia and Montenegro in 2018, and about 9,000 have come into the country so far this year. This comes after Bosnia was mostly spared from the wave of migrants and refugees in 2015.
Many are trying to enter neighboring Croatia, which is a European Union member state. Bihac, which is just an hour’s walk from the Croatian border, currently has about 6,000 migrants in the town of just over 60,000. Only 3,500 of those migrants are sheltered in the town’s four transit stations, while the rest sleep in parks and abandoned buildings, Info Migrants report.
