Belgium launches joint military and police operation in Brussels to curb shootings
The Belgian Defence Minister has announced the first joint operation between armed forces and police in Brussels, where 65 shootings have been recorded since the start of the year.
Military on the streets of Brussels after escalation of drug-trafficking-related violence
Belgium has mobilised its Armed Forces to act alongside federal police on the streets of Brussels in response to a wave of violence related to drug trafficking that is afflicting the capital. According to RTP, Defence Minister Theo Francken announced this Thursday the first joint operation of its kind, with the aim of combating "disorder, crime and drug trafficking".
"We cannot continue to leave our streets and stations in the hands of drug traffickers and criminals. The specific security problems in Brussels have been ignored for too long," said Francken in a message posted on social media, arguing that authorities need to "regain control" of the city's streets and stations.
The decision comes after six shootings recorded in the past week in the districts of Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Molenbeek. With these incidents, the total number of shootings in the region since the start of the year stands at 65 — the same number recorded throughout the previous year. Since 2025, 170 shootings have been counted in Brussels, of which 69 in the current year alone, the overwhelming majority associated with drug trafficking.
The Brussels prosecutor also expressed concern about the escalation in crime and called for a strengthening of resources, warning that currently "anyone can be shot" in the crossfire between rival groups. In most incidents, these are scores being settled between two criminal factions. "Clearly, there was a disagreement between them and, for that reason, there is a dynamic of retaliation," explained the magistrate, adding that the situation should not cease whilst the leaders of the networks, many of whom are abroad, are not arrested.
The prosecutor further denounced that some criminal group leaders, despite being imprisoned, continue to order shootings from their cells. For that reason, he appealed to the authorities to equip prisons with mobile phone jammers in order to prevent the continuation of these activities within the prison facilities.
Source: RTP