Belgian defence chief urges action as Brussels faces rising violence

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said Brussels, where the security situation has become critical in several areas, is not Kabul or Syria’s Raqqa, and called for order to be restored on the city’s streets.

He made the statement after the Belgian government decided to extend the deployment of military patrols at railway stations and metro stations across Brussels.

“The Council of Ministers has just decided — at my proposal — that the military will continue to serve at the railway stations and metro stations of Brussels. The state must regain control of the streets in some ‘problem areas.’ This is not Kabul, not Raqqa, not Kandahar,” Francken wrote on X.

The security situation in Brussels has deteriorated sharply over the past two years. Shootings occur several times a week, while the capital has also recorded a sharp increase in incidents of theft and violence on its streets.

Military patrols were first deployed on the streets of Brussels following the 2016 terrorist attacks at the Belgian capital’s airport and metro system. The attacks were carried out by the same group affiliated with the Islamic State terrorist organisation that organised the Paris attacks in autumn 2015. The group was based in Brussels’ Molenbeek district.

By Tamilla Hasanova