Explosives were set off outside a temporary refugee shelter in a former school in Ugchelen in Gelderland in the early hours of Wednesday, just two days ahead of the first arrivals on Friday.

The former school is to accommodate a maximum of 100 refugees until the end of the year to take the pressure off the Ter Apel refugee reception centre at times when it is full to overflowing.

Damage to the building included broken windows and a scorched entrance, local broadcaster Omroep Gelderland said. A security guard on the premises was not hurt in the blast.

Police are calling on witnesses to come forward.

The choice of the school building has raised protests in the town, particularly among the parents of children who visit the adjacent primary school. Apeldoorn local council has invited parents to talk about the location this week, the broadcaster said.

The COA refugee settlement agency described the attack as unacceptable and the local council said the accommodation would be open on Friday as planned.

In 2022, a hotel in Albergen in Overijssel bought by refugee agency COA to house refugees was torched. After a two-year delay caused by local opposition the Landhotel ’t Elshuys is now home to 150 refugees instead of 300 as originally planned.