Belgium extends security alert for capital amid terror fear
Belgian authorities have extended a maximum security alert in the capital, Brussels, over lingering fears of an “imminent” terrorist attack.
On Monday, Prime Minister Charles Michel warned that the threat of a coordinated attack in the capital city “remains serious and imminent.”
“The crisis center decided to maintain the alert level four, which means the threat remains serious and imminent,” Michel said, adding that the threat level will be reviewed again next Monday.
Last week, the alert status for the whole European state was raised from two to three following the attacks, claimed by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, in the French capital city of Paris. The November 13 assaults left 130 people dead and over 350 wounded.
Michel said the army and police will remain on the streets in the coming days. However, authorities plan to reopen schools and the metro system on Wednesday.
The security lockdown, already in place for three days, has severely disrupted normal life in Brussels, with soldiers in camouflage patrolling everywhere, from railway stations to European Union (EU) institutions.
The EU and NATO, both of which are headquartered in Brussels, said they would reinforce security, urging non-essential staff to work from home.
Belgium, the institutional capital of Europe, has been at the center of probes into the Paris attacks since it emerged that two of the incident’s bombers had been living there.
Belgian police charged a fourth suspect in connection with the Paris attacks on Sunday as an international manhunt continued for key suspect Belgian-born Salah Abdeslam.
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