Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Lives of 900 Migrants in Bosnia at Risk as Impasse Over Shelter Continues

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - Humanitarian agencies are urging Bosnian authorities to
   resolve their differences and provide immediate protection for hundreds
   of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers who are living without shelter
   in wintertime temperatures.

   About 900 people have been stranded for more than a week near the
   former Lipa Emergency Tent Camp in northern Bosnia. They have been
   living in dire conditions, trying to withstand freezing temperatures,
   since a huge fire destroyed the camp where they resided.

   U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told VOA that plans to
   transport the former camp residents to an appropriate temporary
   facility fell through. That, she said, is because residents of the area
   where they were going protested the move.

   "The deadlock continues," Shamdasani said. "These people remain
   outdoors without adequate shelter in freezing conditions. So we are
   calling on the authorities to ensure that these people are protected,
   that they receive adequate shelter and living conditions in line with
   the human rights obligations of the government of Bosnia and
   Herzegovina."

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