Hostage crisis, national strike halt Belgium : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Hostage crisis, national strike halt Belgium

Belgian armed police stormed an apartment in the western city of Ghent on Monday to end a siege after reports that gunmen had taken a hostage there. The victim was safe and well and three other men had been detained, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors said.

Hostage crisis, national strike halt Belgium

Belgian special forces stand at the entrance of a building, where four gunmen have taken a man hostage, in Ghent on Monday. Reuters



Ghent, December 15

Belgian armed police stormed an apartment in the western city of Ghent on Monday to end a siege after reports that gunmen had taken a hostage there.

The victim was safe and well and three other men had been detained, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors said.

“Three men have been taken away though there were no weapons found. The earlier reports were of four men with kalashnikovs,” she said. “...It’s not entirely clear whether someone was in fact taken hostage.”

Armed police in balaclavas emerged at about 1 p.m from the cordoned-off building in the Dampoort district. “It’s over,” one police officer said.

Belgian broadcaster VRT cited neighbours as saying that the flat had been used by drug dealers.

The incident occurred within hours of Australian police locking down the centre of Sydney after an armed man walked into a downtown cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag.

The Belgian prosecution spokeswoman said there was no indication of a link in the Ghent case to terrorism. “It’s really nothing along the lines of what is happening in Sydney,” she said. — Reuters

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death, seeks report in a month

Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that his brother...

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

Mahagathbandhan announces LS seat-sharing for Bihar; RJD to contest 26, Congress 9

Mahagathbandhan announces Lok Sabha seat-sharing for Bihar; RJD to contest 26, Congress 9

High-decibel contest seems on the cards in Hajipur, where RJ...


Cities

View All