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Protest against COVID measures grows violent in Brussels

Sunday, 21 November 2021 11:56 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 21 November 2021 11:56 PM ]

Police forces stand guard as people protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) measures near the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium on November 21, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

A march reportedly partaken by tens of thousands of people against preemptive COVID-19 restrictions in Brussels grows violent as protesters clash with the police.

The Sunday rally started out peacefully, but spun out of control after, what the police described as, the protesters' attacking the security forces with "projectiles" and "vandalized street signs," AFP reported.

The police responded with water cannons and teargas canisters.

At least three security forces and one demonstrator were injured.

"Several of the demonstrators caught up in the clash wore hoods and carried Flemish nationalist flags, while others wore Nazi-era yellow stars," the agency wrote.

As many as 42 people were briefly detained, while two were arrested.

Despite the growing public anger at anti-virus measures across the continent, authorities have been warning about a pending huge rise in COVID deaths if the restrictions were to be either lifted or relaxed.

Some half a million more people could die in Europe from the virus by March in the absence of urgent action, the World Health Organization cautioned on Saturday.