Around 30 schools remained closed yesterday in French-speaking Belgium due to bomb threats transmitted by email messages that also suggested a ransom demand, official sources said. According to the organization Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement (WBE), which manages educational establishments in Wallonia, around 10 thousand students are affected by the closure of “schools, colleges and lyceums” in Brussels and the province of Brabant Wallon, to the south of the Belgian capital.
“Last night [Domingo], we were informed by several of our directors that they had just received a threatening email”, explained Julien Nicaise, general administrator of WBE, to RTBF station. The email mentioned the possible use of explosives if a ransom was paid.
The public French language education service justified the closure by referring to “strict respect for the principle of security”. Most guardians were warned by schools to keep their children at home yesterday. “WBE is in contact with the competent authorities and the situation is constantly being assessed. Several locations have already been controlled or are being controlled.
The situation will be reassessed today [ontem]”, declared the organization through the official internet portal. At the beginning of November, upon returning from a period of vacation following the All Saints’ Day holiday [01 de Novembro]two schools had already been evacuated in Charleroi and Dinant, in Wallonia, following bomb threats received by email.
