North Macedonia’s government on Tuesday vowed to improve its online security in response to a wave of email bomb hoaxes that have caused widespread disruptions since mid-October. Officials described the threats as an act of terrorism, suggesting a possible link to the NATO member’s pro-Ukrainian stance.
Police on Tuesday evacuated more than 30 locations in the capital Skopje and the southern city of Prilep, including the presidential residence, shopping malls, schools, hotels, museums and sports venues, after receiving what eventually turned out to be false threats of bombs. in a series of similar incidents.
For more than four months and almost daily, bomb threats sent by email to the authorities have triggered searches by the police’s counter-terrorism team of schools, public institutions and shopping malls.
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Police spokesman Toni Angelovski told the Associated Press that counter-terrorism teams searched a total of 469 locations, mainly schools, in response to threats received between mid-October and February 15. No explosives were found.
Email bomb threats were sent for the first time on Tuesday to President Stevo Pendarovski’s residence, as well as shopping malls, museums, sports venues, residential complexes and schools in Skopje and Prilep. Other targets included two major hotels, the country’s football federation, Skopje’s main train station and the administrative court, police said.
Local media reported that the most recent bomb threats were sent by a fraudster who identified himself as “Graham Klein”. Previous threats were allegedly made by other fictitious individuals, reports said.
The latest bomb threats were accompanied by texts accusing Macedonians of being “complicit in the destruction of my country”, without naming the country, and included calls for unspecified sanctions to be lifted.
Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski last week described the threats as “hybrid terrorist attacks” originating from abroad and said they were aimed at causing widespread unrest and intimidating members of the public.
“This is an act of terrorism. Whatever the reason, it brings such disorder and insecurity among the people, it should be severely punished,” Spasovski said.
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He said police had strong indications where the threats were coming from, adding that his ministry was “working with utmost dedication, with the help of our partners (in NATO).” He didn’t elaborate.
North Macedonia’s centre-left government said in a statement on Tuesday that the cabinet had taken a series of measures aimed at “improving the security of information systems in the institutions, which will be implemented as soon as possible”.
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski had previously suggested the threats were related to the country’s stance on the war in Ukraine after it participated in sanctions against Russia.
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North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020.
