Bomb alerts in northern Macedonia, authorities: Bomb threats come from Iran, Russia

Northern Macedonia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has knowledge that bomb threats, in addition to Macedonian territory, come from abroad, as well, from Russia and Iran, through the Virtual Private Network (S. VPN-Virtual Private Network, which is a mechanism to ensure secure Internet connections.

The last <x0 Days, according to the Forenzice conducted at MPB, alarms go through VPN addresses, but initial calls are from Iran and Russia. It is important to note that those VPN addresses are paid for using cryptocles, which further complicates the possibility of determining the correct author of this crime. Already in investigative procedure are some who have done so from the territory of the Republic of Northern Macedonia. That investigation is in an advanced phase and when the moment comes we will inform the opinion”, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said.

Northern Macedonia has been facing daily bombings at various institutions since October of last year, mainly in elementary and high schools.

This has led to numerous disruptions of the learning process, as bomb alarms take a long time until terror teams near the MPB determine whether the threats are true.

“We have been working committed throughout the past period, because for us the safety and tranquillity of the citizens are primarily”, Spasovski said.

At school facilities on Friday, March 3rd, there were raids and police presence, after which no bomb alarm was recorded.

This, according to the MPB, is part of new measures that have already entered into force, but this institution has not clarified whether school and other institutions are instructed to disable electronic posts, through which threats have been sent.

Similarly, the Ministry of Education in Northern Macedonia has recommended that during days of warnings of bombing, instruction be kept at a distance so that students do not lose lessons.

During the past week, only in a single day, police forces in Skopje have evacuated staff and students from 14 schools because of alarms they had received through the bomb deployment e-mail.

Bombing alerts, North Macedonia institutions' leaders have named it “hybrid terrorist attacks” coming from outside. /rel