Belgian Defense Minister Francken said he would not rule out the possibility of sending troops to patrol Brussels before the end of this year, as the government faces great pressure to control violent crimes and restore order in the capital. He stressed that the implementation should have a clear legal basis and should be limited to essential security tasks.
According to Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil, the city has recorded 57 shootings since mid-August, of which 20 occurred in the summer, killing at least two people. Moinil warned that anyone, including Brussels residents, could hit a lac ball, calling for coordination to suppress criminal gangs operating in areas such as Anderlecht and Molenbeek.
Previously, Secretary of Security and Home Affairs Bernard Quentin called the situation in Brussels a disaster, saying that criminal gangs were increasingly courageous. He called for the deployment of mixed teams of police and soldiers to patrol crime hotspots to create a strong deterrent effect.
A Euronews article described Brussels as the European bullet crime capital, while statistics from the national statistics agency Statbel showed that 46% of the citys residents were foreign-born, of which 27% were from outside the European Union a factor believed to contribute to increasing social and security challenges.
