A code blue terror alert covering the entire country has been issued by the Security and Intelligence Service, until further notice, marking the taking of effect of a new terror alert system adopted by the Government in October 2018.
The SIS said in a press release the national terror alert system is an instrument to notify the general public on potential terrorist threats and on activities carried out to prevent and discourage terrorism. The system comes with a hierarchical color code, where blue indicates a low threat, yellow - moderate, orange - high, and red - a critical threat. Code blue is the default state.
SIS says that with the low-level alert issued, the relevant authorities are enabled to verify information on potential terrorist threats and conduct a series of preventive measures, including public awareness raising activities in the field of combating and prevention of terrorism.
The code blue alert also comes with a set of recommendations for the general public. For example, members of the public are urged to watch out for people whose behavior or appearance looks suspicious, in the street, in crowded places or in the public transport. For instance, when someone wears an unseasonable coat that might hide an object beneath, or when someone manifestly avoids surveillance cameras or being seen by police officers.
The public is also asked to report vehicles that look abandoned, vehicles without license places, with boots manifestly overloaded and which are parked for a long time and without an apparent good reason outside residential or public buildings. Unattended bags or boxes, especially if wiring or mechanisms shows out of them, should be reported immediately.
Under code blue, parents are also advised to educate their children on how to behave safely in crisis situations.
Alerts are issued nationwide or for a particular area and may be modified by the SIS, on the proposal of the National Antiterror Center, following major public events occuring in Moldova, including of international nature.
