Belgium will deploy soldiers on the streets of Brussels before the end of the year, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed on Thursday, November 20th, as the government intensifies efforts to stem a surge in drug-related violence that has shaken the capital and raised fresh concerns about the country’s vulnerability to organized crime.
Speaking on public broadcaster RTBF, Quintin said the measure “is not merely symbolic,” insisting that visible military and police patrols—particularly in major railway stations—would “offer a concrete answer to the security problems and send a strong signal to both citizens and criminals.”
Patrols inside stations will double, while soldiers will join police in “mixed patrols,” operating under limited powers until a new legal framework is completed in 2026.
I’m immediately suspicious when a source has “conservative” in the title (or “liberal”, for that matter, but I seldom see the latter). Doing some digging, it is just about the “mixed patrols”. The soldiers appear to be there to add firepower to the police when the police need it.
In the process of determining this, the Belgian police do carry firearms, but have very strict rules on when they can use them. I would infer that the soldiers will have to follow the police’s lead in that regard, but when the police deem it necessary, the soldiers are there with heavier weapons.
Use them when necessary, just as police do. Gangs can get quite nasty, as we can see with the cartels in Mexico. Europe is changing; Sweden is now the bombing capital of Europe.
The claim that Sweden is the bombing capital of Europe is supported by several analyses, which report a significant increase in gang-related bombings and shootings in Sweden, particularly in urban areas such as Gothenburg, Malmo, and Stockholm…Additionally, The Economist mentions that Swedish businesses are being bombed…Other sources also report a high number of bombings in Sweden, with 97 explosions in the first nine months of the year, and a significant increase in gun crime…
Actually the usual practice in Europe is to bring out the fire hoses to quell demonstrations.
I wonder why we don’t do that in the US. Pretty harmless and effective. Probably better than tear gas or rubber bullets. Co-operation between police and fire depts seems better there.