Soldiers on the streets of Brussels to stop the violence caused by drug trafficking. The Belgian Minister of Interior: “Our capital is a disaster in terms of security”
A police car patrols in front of the Porte de Namur – Naamsepoort subway station in Brussels, on December 26, 2024 – illustrative photograph. Photo source: Hatim Kaghat / Belga Press / Profimedia
The Belgian Minister of Security and Internal Affairs, Bernard Quintin, wants to send soldiers to the streets of Brussels to combat more serious drugs, Polito notes.
“The army has the role of defending the integrity of the territory. Usually, the soldiers do this on borders or far, in external missions. But also the war against drug crime is about protecting our territory,” Quintin said in an interview for Standaard, published on Saturday.
The capital of Belgium was shaken by a wave of shootings related to drug trafficking. Last month, the prosecutor in Brussels, Julien Moinil, denounced the intensification of violence, specifying that this year 57 armed attacks were registered, of which 20 only during the summer.
Prior to the budgetary negotiations, the Belgian Minister of Justice, Annelies Verlinden, requests additional financing of one billion euros for his ministry.
Bernard Quintin, originally from Brussels, described the security situation in the hometown as a “catastrophic”, criticizing the defiant attitude of traffickers in an interview for Politico.
According to the new plan, Quintin told Dendaard that soldiers would patrol in mixed teams with police. Their operations would concentrate around the subway stations and in certain neighborhoods, such as Peterbos, in Anderlecht, southwest of Brussels.
The political decision regarding the sending of the soldiers has already been taken, but the details are to be established, said Quintin, adding that he wants to implement “as soon as possible”.
The legal framework for sending the soldiers to the streets is prepared, and the project will be sent to the Council of Ministers soon, the Minister of Defense, Theo Francken, confirmed on Saturday. “Our capital, Brussels, is a disaster in terms of security. We have to take control again,” he wrote.
Quintin's proposal is part of a larger plan for the “big cities”, which includes, among other things, the extension of video surveillance. In addition to the Brussels region, the plan also targets the cities of Antwerp, Gent, Liège, Charleroi and Mons.
The efforts of the authorities to combat drug crime in Brussels takes place against the background of a prolonged political crisis, as the Brussels region has not been able to form a government after the June 2024 elections.
David Leisterh, the leader of the Brussels branch of Quintin's Francophone Liberal Party, told La Libre that he might become necessary to organize new elections. At the national level, the leader of the party, Georges-Louis Bouchez, repeated on Friday night that Brussels will become “inevitable” under the control of the federal government.
