<p>A refugee camp in Bosnia criticised for its bleak conditions was destroyed in a fire Wednesday, police said, as the country faces a repeat crisis over where to shelter migrants during winter.</p>.<p>Police said they believe the blaze was lit by former residents of the camp, most of whom were thought to have evacuated the site in advance.</p>.<p>There were no casualties or injuries, but the infrastructure of the site near the northwestern village of Lipa was destroyed, police spokesperson Ale Siljdedic told AFP.</p>.<p>"Firefighters managed to put it out, but all the four large tents in which the migrants had slept burned down," Siljdedic said.</p>.<p>The fire comes as local authorities are in a deadlock over where to shelter more than 3,000 refugees and migrants in the northwest Bihac region, a base for those making attempts to enter neighbouring EU member Croatia.</p>.<p>Bosnian authorities have been repeatedly criticised for failing to provide enough protection for the tens of thousands of refugees who cross the country annually.</p>.<p>The Lipa camp was set up in April as a temporary solution and lacked electricity and heating.</p>.<p>Humanitarian organisations have been warning that the camp was unsuitable for winter, urging authorities to provide adequate housing for its 1,300 residents.</p>.<p>The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which ran the reception centre, recently announced its withdrawal due to the poor conditions.</p>.<p>"Disaster upon disaster", IOM's coordinator in Bosnia Peter van der Auweraert wrote on Twitter about the fire.</p>.<p>"As far as we know now a group of former residents put three tents and containers on fire after most of the migrants had left the camp," he wrote.</p>.<p>Police expect the 1,300 migrants who were staying in the camp to head towards the Bihac region, where some 2,000 others are already sleeping in abandoned buildings.</p>.<p>Local authorities there have refused the federal government's orders to reopen a reception centre in Bihac that they abruptly shut down in October, right before local elections, to appease local frustration with the migrant influx.</p>.<p>The European Union warned this week that migrant situation in Bosnia was "alarming", pointing to dire conditions in the Lipa camp.</p>.<p>Authorities must "act with the utmost urgency to address the needs of all refugees and migrants without shelter and save lives," EU officials said.</p>
<p>A refugee camp in Bosnia criticised for its bleak conditions was destroyed in a fire Wednesday, police said, as the country faces a repeat crisis over where to shelter migrants during winter.</p>.<p>Police said they believe the blaze was lit by former residents of the camp, most of whom were thought to have evacuated the site in advance.</p>.<p>There were no casualties or injuries, but the infrastructure of the site near the northwestern village of Lipa was destroyed, police spokesperson Ale Siljdedic told AFP.</p>.<p>"Firefighters managed to put it out, but all the four large tents in which the migrants had slept burned down," Siljdedic said.</p>.<p>The fire comes as local authorities are in a deadlock over where to shelter more than 3,000 refugees and migrants in the northwest Bihac region, a base for those making attempts to enter neighbouring EU member Croatia.</p>.<p>Bosnian authorities have been repeatedly criticised for failing to provide enough protection for the tens of thousands of refugees who cross the country annually.</p>.<p>The Lipa camp was set up in April as a temporary solution and lacked electricity and heating.</p>.<p>Humanitarian organisations have been warning that the camp was unsuitable for winter, urging authorities to provide adequate housing for its 1,300 residents.</p>.<p>The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which ran the reception centre, recently announced its withdrawal due to the poor conditions.</p>.<p>"Disaster upon disaster", IOM's coordinator in Bosnia Peter van der Auweraert wrote on Twitter about the fire.</p>.<p>"As far as we know now a group of former residents put three tents and containers on fire after most of the migrants had left the camp," he wrote.</p>.<p>Police expect the 1,300 migrants who were staying in the camp to head towards the Bihac region, where some 2,000 others are already sleeping in abandoned buildings.</p>.<p>Local authorities there have refused the federal government's orders to reopen a reception centre in Bihac that they abruptly shut down in October, right before local elections, to appease local frustration with the migrant influx.</p>.<p>The European Union warned this week that migrant situation in Bosnia was "alarming", pointing to dire conditions in the Lipa camp.</p>.<p>Authorities must "act with the utmost urgency to address the needs of all refugees and migrants without shelter and save lives," EU officials said.</p>