Poland: Warsaw square cordoned off after bomb threat

On Saturday, Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, Poland, and its surrounding areas were blocked off by police after a man reportedly made threats to blow himself up while perched on a monument there, according to local media.

The event occurred the day before a crucial legislative vote in Poland.

No entrance, there is a bomb, police officials at the scene informed the media, but a police official cited by the state-run PAP news agency refuted the claims that the man was threatening to blow himself up.

“At the moment negotiations are going on, on the scene there are negotiators and counter-terrorist officers,” the spokesperson told Reuters, urging members of the public to stay away from the area.

Regarding the continuing incident, he declined to comment further.

A man was seen standing atop the Smolensk monument, which honours the victims of a 2010 aviation catastrophe that claimed 96 lives, including President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, in a video released on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

PAP reported that a square-area operation comprised several hundred officers. Armed cops were seen approaching nearby by a Reuters video journalist.

A visitor to the Sofitel hotel, which faces the area, claimed they were instructed to only exit the structure by the back door.

(With agency inputs)