The Belgian capital was locked down on Sunday with police and soldiers patrolling deserted roads as authorities assessed whether to issue a security alert to to avoid a repeat of the bloody Paris attacks. With the world on side over the jihadist threat, United States President Barack Obama stated one of the most powerful tool to combat the Islamic State (IS) was to assert that we are not afraid.
Brussels is Not Afraid
In Paris, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian claimed a chemical or biological strike was amongst the risks that could threaten Europe, but that preventative measures had actually been taken. Belgian officials were to meet in the afternoon to evaluate the security alert, enforced over fears that jihadists had prepared assaults similar to those in Paris which killed 130 on November 13.
The city’s metro system and public buildings were closed, along with stores as well as restaurants after the horror alert was raised to the level of 4 due to what authorities claimed Saturday was an imminent danger. The historic Grand Place in central Brussels, usually dynamic, was virtually empty, with business severely struck in the run-up to Christmas as troops as well as armed police patrolled.
Suspects Identified, Belgium is on the Lookout
Inside Minister Jan Jambon said the authorities were looking not just for Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam who handled to slide past French safety and security forces after the carnage in the City of Light, but others that are reported to have been involved. Justice Minister Koen Geens stated in a separate Belga report he anticipated the local area to re-open on Monday. Belgium as well as the capital, home to the European Union as well as NATO, are no strangers to Islamist violence.
Belgium’s Past Run-Ins With Terrorism
Four people were shot dead at the Brussels Jewish museum in 2014, and in January, security forces eliminated two suspects connected to the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris. The UN Security Council on Friday authorized countries to take all necessary actions to fight jihadist violence after a wave of strikes, consisting of the downing of a Russian airplane in Egypt with the loss of 224 lives as well as the storming of a luxury hotel in Mali which left 19 dead.
