From Friday 45 soldiers will be deployed in Brussels to assist police in the fight against the trade in illegal drugs and other crime in and around the capital railway and metro stations. This follows the completion of the deployment of troop in static security operations outside Jewish institutions in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège.
The Brussels regional news platform Bruzz reports that the soldiers will be authorised to stop and search individuals and to act in self-defence if needs be. From Friday, the soldiers will be patrolling alongside the police at a number of (metro)stations in Brussels. The Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Defence have not disclosed details of the exact locations where they will be deployed.
A further 10 soldiers may be deployed from Friday in so-called FIPA operations. These are large-scale operations in which local and federal police services join forces.