From today soldiers are again patrolling the capital’s metro and railway stations. A decade ago, the presence of troops on the streets of Brussels this became a familiar sight in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016. Initially involve the equivalent of 45 soldiers will be deployed full-time alongside police officers.
This number will a gradually the Federal Interior minister Bernard Quintin (Francophone liberal) told the Francophone commercial radio station Bel RTL.
Initially, only police will have the authority to carry out, for example, identity checks. Soldiers will act in a supporting, by bolstering patrols and protecting police officers while they are on duty. The joint patrols are under the command of the police service.
Mr Quintin told Bel RTL that “We are currently working on the basis for a protocol for Antwerp and a protocol for Brussels, in addition to Article 111 of the Integrated Police Act that has allowed military personnel to be deployed on static protection duties at certain locations”.
At the same time, the government is working on a new code that intended to specify how the military personel might be deployed to support police in the future.
Mr Quitin says that railway and metro stations “are hotspots for insecurity and are locations where a lot of people pass through”. “We will be there to demonstrate that we are working to ensure the safety of all our citizens and those who come to visit our country.”
Last month, the ministry of Defence announced that it would deploy soldiers to defend sites linked to the Jewish community in Belgium. The decision followed an explosion at a synagogue in Liège and similar incidents in Norway and The Netherlands.