Brussels to stay in lockdown 'for at least another week'
Brussels will keep unprecedented security measures in place for at least
another week as it faces an imminent and serious threat of a major
terrorist attack, Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, has said.
Anxious inhabitants of the Belgian capital
had hoped for a respite from the lockdown
that has seen shops, schools and offices
shut, public transport restricted, museums
and theatres closed, seasonal markets
cancelled, and thousands of armed police
and soldiers in the streets.
Some measures – such as the closure of schools and the metro – may be
lifted on Wednesday, Michel told a press conference on Monday evening.
Others will remain, however, and the military deployment will be
reinforced.
Belgian security services continue to hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-
old from Brussels who is suspected of having fled to his home city after
playing a role in the attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris 10 days
ago.
There are fears of a terrorist network planning a series of simultaneous
strikes in different locations in Brussels.
Police in neighbouring France said on Monday evening that they had
found a device resembling a suicide belt on a street in the town of
Montrouge, south of Paris. Forensic experts are working to establish its
composition and whether it was linked to the attacks in the French
capital. A source close to the investigation told Reuters: “It looks like a
belt of explosivies.”
In Brussels, Michel said the threat level in the city and the immediate
surrounding region had not changed since Saturday morning, when the
security measures were first imposed.
“We are very alert. The potential targets remain commercial centres and
streets and public transport. But we are doing everything we can to return
the situation to normal,” Michel told reporters.
“No one is happy with the situation. We are working hard to protect our
citizens. There are ongoing police operations and we will be taking
decisions hour by hour on the best and most appropriate measures to
take.”
another week as it faces an imminent and serious threat of a major
terrorist attack, Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, has said.
Anxious inhabitants of the Belgian capital
had hoped for a respite from the lockdown
that has seen shops, schools and offices
shut, public transport restricted, museums
and theatres closed, seasonal markets
cancelled, and thousands of armed police
and soldiers in the streets.
Some measures – such as the closure of schools and the metro – may be
lifted on Wednesday, Michel told a press conference on Monday evening.
Others will remain, however, and the military deployment will be
reinforced.
Belgian security services continue to hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-
old from Brussels who is suspected of having fled to his home city after
playing a role in the attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris 10 days
ago.
There are fears of a terrorist network planning a series of simultaneous
strikes in different locations in Brussels.
Police in neighbouring France said on Monday evening that they had
found a device resembling a suicide belt on a street in the town of
Montrouge, south of Paris. Forensic experts are working to establish its
composition and whether it was linked to the attacks in the French
capital. A source close to the investigation told Reuters: “It looks like a
belt of explosivies.”
In Brussels, Michel said the threat level in the city and the immediate
surrounding region had not changed since Saturday morning, when the
security measures were first imposed.
“We are very alert. The potential targets remain commercial centres and
streets and public transport. But we are doing everything we can to return
the situation to normal,” Michel told reporters.
“No one is happy with the situation. We are working hard to protect our
citizens. There are ongoing police operations and we will be taking
decisions hour by hour on the best and most appropriate measures to
take.”
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