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'Consequences' for Bosnia over freezing migrants

(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, JAN 12 - Bosnia risks "severe consequences" to its reputation if assistance is not urgently given to 1,700 migrants left without shelter for more than three weeks, the EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday. Authorities in the non-EU country need to "quickly scale up their actions to address the grave humanitarian situation," the EU's Josep Borrell told the Serb member of Bosnia's joint presidency, Milorad Dodik, in a phone call, Borrell's spokesman said. Those authorities should "take full responsibility, urgent action and do what it takes to provide immediate assistance and work on longer term solutions," Borrell told Dodik. The blunt words reflected frustration over the slow and minimal action taken so far to help the migrants despite repeated urgings from Brussels and 3.5 million euros ($4.3 million) in extra aid for the emergency. Most of the migrants are from Pakistan and Afghanistan and they include children. (ANSA-AFP).