Nazi salutes on the streets of Brussels - riot police use water cannon on extreme right wing protesters
Violent scenes as scuffles break out between far-right demonstrators and pro-migrant groups in central Brussels
Police used a water cannon amid heightened tensions as up to a thousand 'hooligans' arrived wearing black clothes
Protesters had been seen making Nazi salutes and there are reports flowers left at the scene have been trampled
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Hundreds
moved in and occupied the steps of the stock exchange building with
some making Nazi salutes as disgusted crowds watched on
Riot police have descended on the
centre of Brussels today after hundreds of far-right protesters
hijacked a peace march in the Belgian capital.
They gathered at Place de la Bourse in
Brussels this afternoon and unfurled a banner denouncing ISIS before
police used a water cannon on the angry crowd.
In scenes that compounded a week of
grief for Belgians, protesters calling themselves 'The Nation' were
seen making Nazi salutes as they became embroiled in a heated argument
with pro-migrant
Demonstration:
Right-wing protesters arrived en masse this afternoon and unfurled
banners in front of the old stock exchange in Brussels
Vandals kicked over bins and launched plant pots through the air as they retreated following the police advance this afternoon
There
are reports that scuffles have broken out between the two groups and
that some of the floral tributes left at the scene have been trampled
Police
wearing white helmets moved alongside a truck with a water cannon as
they attempted to disperse the crowd of protesters today
White helmeted police unleashed a water
jet to push the group - some of whom were masked - away from the
square prompting shouts of 'This is our home'. Plain-clothed police
also used batons as they tried to control the crowd.
The chaotic scenes unfolded at the site
of a memorial for the victims of the terror attacks in Brussels on
Tuesday which claimed the lives of 31 people.
Belgians were planning to gather today
in solidarity and defiance in central Brussels to remember victims of
the country's worst-ever terror attacks.
The
chaotic scenes unfolded at the site of a memorial for the victims of
the terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday which claimed the lives of 31
people
Photo: AFP/Getty Images About 450 hooligans wearing black shirts then arrived in the square, apparently drunk, this afternoon and waved banners and flares
There
are reports that scuffles have broken out between the two groups and
that some of the floral tributes left at the scene have been trampled
Eyewitnesses
say some of those who were there to pay their respects have been left
in tears and begging with the men, dressed in black, to leave the scene
There
were ugly scenes as demonstrators invaded the rally around the
makeshift memorial in tribute to the victims of the Brussels terror
attacks
In a bid to allow police to devote all
their resources to tracking down the Islamic State cell linked to
Tuesday's Brussels attacks and the November carnage in Paris, officials
asked organisers to postpone an Easter Sunday march.
Public broadcaster RTBF said up to
1,000 hooligans wearing black shirts had arrived in the square this
afternoon. Others estimated that there were closer to 500 participants.
Scuffles soon broke out between the two groups and floral tributes left at the scene were trampled.
Eyewitnesses say some of those who were
there to pay their respects have been left in tears and begging with
the men, dressed in black, to leave the scene.
Police
unleashed a powerful water jet as they pushed back a crowd of
black-clad, far-right protesters in the heart of Brussels today
Violence:
Far-right protesters went on the rampage as part of a demonstration
following the twin terror attacks on Brussels last week
There
are reports that scuffles have broken out between the two groups and
that some of the floral tributes left at the scene have been trampled
A
group that was previously occupying the square shouted back: 'We are
all the children of immigrants' and 'Fascists here, we don't want you!'
Scores
of people were gathered around the mass of flowers, candles and
messages that have been left in front of the ornate former Brussels
stock exchange which has been draped in flags and messages of support
and sympathy
At
least one of the far-right protesters was seen being taken into
custody by plainclothed officers, with scores of police present backed
up by their massive blue and white water cannon trucks
There were reports this afternoon that about ten far-right hooligans had been arrested amid violent scenes this afternoon
Police urged the mourners, who included
some Muslims, not to provoke the hooligans, but some joined in
chanting 'Fascists! Fascists! We're not having it!'
Riot police with shields corralled the
hooligans before dispersing them with high power water jets, and
marshalling them onto trains out of the city
According to NBC News,
a group that was previously occupying the square shouted back: 'We are
all the children of immigrants' and 'Fascists here, we don't want
you!'
At least one of the far-right
protesters was seen being taken into custody, with scores of police
present backed up by their massive blue and white water cannon trucks.
But there were reports this afternoon that about ten far-right
hooligans had been arrested.
'This is our home' and 'The state,
Daesh accomplice,' the hooligans shouted in unison, using an alternate
term for the ISIS that claimed Tuesday's suicide bombings.
Eyewitnesses said some of the many floral tributes were trampled amid chaotic scenes in the Belgian capital this afternoon
Casualty:
An injured woman is led away as right wing demonstrators protest at a
memorial site at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels today
Preparations: Riot police line up as right wing demonstrators protest at a memorial site at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels
Ugly
scenes: 'This is our home' and 'The state, Daesh accomplice,' the
hooligans shouted in unison, using an alternate term for the ISIS that
claimed Tuesday's suicide bombings
Police
arrived en masses as trouble started to brew amid heightened tensions
today. Belgium's interior minister had appealed to residents not to
march Sunday in Brussels in solidarity with the victims
Riot
police with water cannons have descended on the centre of Brussels
today after far-right 'anti-ISIS' protesters held hijacked a peace
march in the Belgian capital
Unrest: Protesters started to throw around bins as they retreated from the square having faced police water cannons
Argument: Crowds were involved in scuffles as tensions boiled over during demonstrations in Brussels
As well as the Belgian riot squad, plainclothes police officers with batons were also called in to break up the demonstration.
Scores of people were gathered around
the mass of flowers, candles and messages that have been left in front
of the ornate former Brussels stock exchange which has been draped in
flags and messages of support and sympathy.
'We are football hooligans, we don't
have anything to do with politics,' said Andres, one of the
demonstrators. 'We are here for the victims and to pay our respects.'
Adrian Liston, who was present at the
vigil, told the BBC that the memorial had been disrupted by a 'bunch of
skinheads' who had turned up 'in force'.
Conflict:
A huge police truck was brought in as police used water cannons to
disperse a crowd of up to a thousand far-right protesters
Anger:
a woman shouts at a far-right protester walking among the many floral
tributes left in the centre of Brussels this afternoon
A
masked protester holds a Belgian flag aloft during the right wing
rally after a large group invaded the square outside the stock exchange
building
A
police officer moves in among floral tributes in an area outside the
stock exchange in Brussels as tensions mounted after the square was
invaded by hundreds of football hooligans
On
guard: Police lined up to move the protesters but eventually had to
use a water canon when they were unable to disperse them at the first
time of asking
'They marched into the square and started a major confrontation with the peace protesters,' he added.
'At this point they were really
starting to get in the face of the peace protesters, the face of the
police, setting off flares, setting off fireworks, and chanting stuff
that was really quite ugly.'
Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned
the demonstrations. 'It is highly inappropriate that protesters have
disrupted the peaceful reflection at the Bourse (stock exchange). I
strongly condemn these disturbances,' he said according to Belga news
agency.
The mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur,
described the crowd as scoundrels and said they had come into Brussels
from other towns, in particular Antwerp.
Ranks
of riot police, carrying shields, hemmed in the crowd and then
gradually pushed the protesters back into a street where water cannon
trucks opened up
Sickening: Masked and hooded men could be seen trampling the many tributes left outside the stock exchange in Brussels
Menacing: Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the demonstrations and called their actions 'highly inappropriate'
The protesters unfurled a huge banner saying 'Casuals against terrorism' as they invaded the square this afternoon
Confrontation: Arguments broke out as tensions grew outside the stock
exchange this afternoon. Police soon moved in and unleashed water
canons
'I am appalled at what has happened, to
see that such scoundrels come here to provoke people at their place of
homage,' he said.
Meanwhile, Belgian police are questioning four new terror suspects after a series of dawn raids across the country.
A total of nine people were detained
after raids in Brussels and the northern cities of Mechelen and Duffel
this morning. Five were released after questioning and four remain in
custody.
The raids are linked to a 'federal case
regarding terrorism', according to the federal prosecutor, but it was
not clear whether they were tied to the attacks this week in which 31
people were killed. Earlier another suspect was charged over his
involvement with a terrorist group.
The man, identified as Abderamane A.,
was shot in the leg by police on Friday in the city's Schaerbeek
district because he was carrying a rucksack police believed contained a
bomb.
Police officers detain a right wing demonstrators protest at a memorial site at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels
A masked man was restrained by officers before being pinned to the ground amid violent scenes in the Belgian capital today
Response:
Police with helmets, shields and batons were called in along with a
giant truck as they prepared to disperse the crowds
Hooded: A maked man raises a fist and the Belgian flag in defiance outside the stock exchange in Brussels
He was detained in connection to a
related raid in France on Thursday that the government said foiled a
'major terrorist attack'. He has been charged with 'involvement in a
terrorist group', Belgian prosecutors said today.
Abderamane A. was reportedly convicted
in 2003 as an accomplice in the assassination of the Afghan political
and military leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, two years earlier.
It came as dramatic pictures emerged of
the moment armed Italian police arrested an Algerian man wanted by
Belgium over fake ID documents used by the Paris and Brussels
terrorists.
Djamal Eddine Ouali, 40, was seen on
his knees and being held at gunpoint after being detained under a
European arrest warrant in the southern Italian region of Salerno.
He was suspected of being part of a criminal network that produced fake documents for illegal immigration.
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