Attack on EU building
Riots at Corona protest in Brussels
01/23/2022, 7:36 p.m
In the Belgian capital of Brussels, tens of thousands of people gather for a protest march against the corona measures. This leads to violence, stones and firecrackers are thrown, the panes of an EU building are shattered. The police responded with water cannons.
During protests against the corona restrictions in Brussels, demonstrators and the police clashed violently on Sunday. Demonstrators threw stones and firecrackers, and police used tear gas and water cannons. Pictures show broken windows of the European External Action Service building.
According to the police, around 50,000 people took part in the protest march. A spokeswoman said six people were arrested before the demonstration began for possession of dangerous or prohibited items.
The demonstrators marched from the Nordbahnhof to the European Quarter, where riots broke out, according to the Belga news agency and other media. Accordingly, demonstrators threw objects at police officers and damaged buildings. The police used tear gas and water cannons to force those involved away. According to the police, the demonstration was broken up at 3 p.m.
The organizers, including the movements World Wide Demonstration for Freedom and Europeans United for Freedom, had called on demonstrators from other EU countries to join the protest. According to a Belga report, the demonstrators held flags from different countries such as Germany, France and Poland, many did not wear masks.
The demonstrators carried banners with slogans against Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. They also criticized the Corona passport, with which a corona vaccination or a negative test must be proven in numerous public institutions in Belgium.
In Belgium, the number of new infections every day had risen to more than 60,000 in the past week. However, because of the usually milder course of infection with the dominant omicron variant and the high vaccination rate, the Belgian health system is not as heavily burdened as during previous corona waves.