Police officers and protesters clashed in Brussels as violence broke out during a protest attended by 35,000 people in the Belgian capital. The march, located in the city’s European Union and government district, largely focused on a ban on the unvaccinated from public venues such as restaurants and bars.
Protests also erupted in several Dutch cities on Sunday, November 21, which is the third night of unrest over the government’s coronavirus restrictions. Demonstrators also set off fireworks and vandalized property in Groningen, Leeuwarden, Enschede and Tilburg.
A Groningen police spokeswoman said riot police are present in the center to restore order. Authorities also issued an emergency order in Enschede, near the German border, and ordered people to stay off the streets.
In Leeuwarden, a football match was briefly disrupted as supporters, who were barred from games due to the restrictions, threw fireworks on the ground. There were also unrests in Rotterdam and in The Hague.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte lashed out at “idiot” rioters who rampaged through cities across the Netherlands as protests against the policies turned violent. So far, over 100 people have been arrested around the country and at least 12 have been injured during the demonstrations.
“This was pure violence disguised as protest,” Rutte said.
While the protest began peacefully, scenes turned ugly at the end of the Brussels protest march. Police fired water cannon and tear gas in response to protesters throwing projectiles, injuring three officers. Several of the demonstrators wore hoods and carried Flemish nationalist flags, while others wore Nazi-era yellow stars.
Social media images showed some demonstrators attacking police vans with street signs.
“Our goal today is to fight against
the virus. Please, let us not get incited by a small group which would
turn it into a fight against one another,” Belgian Prime Minister
Alexander De Croo said....<<<Read More>>>....