RIYADH: Parents across Riyadh received messages from schools on Sunday announcing a last-minute plan to shift to remote learning for a week, according to messages seen by AFP.
“We have just been informed by Saudi authorities that schools must remain closed all week,” read two separate messages seen by AFP.
There was no official reason given but the move comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf and near-daily attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia by Houthis in Yemen.
“When a decision affects an entire school community for a full week, families deserve clear communication and transparency about the reasons behind it,” one Riyadh parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
“It’s a last-minute decision. We have no clue what’s happening,” a Lebanese expatriate living in Riyadh added.
Late Sunday, some schools indicated that they would be returning to in-person learning on Monday.
Saudi officials have not officially commented publicly on the closures or on any order to return to in-person learning this week.
The announcement comes a day after the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted drones and ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom.
The strikes were the latest in a series of escalating Houthi attacks since July, when renewed hostilities shattered a years-long truce and embroiled Yemen in the wider Middle East war.
The United Nations Security Council earlier condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Houthis, noting that the strikes have wounded “civilians, including women and children”.
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