After two nights of riots in the Marollen neighborhood, Wednesday night was quiet. Police detained 30 people, 15 of which were minors. There were no serious incidents and no confrontation between police and rioters. According to police, some of those detained had inflammable products and could have provoked incidents. Police also found in various bushes balaclavas and inflammable products ready for use. All together about 50 youngsters were out on the streets, which is less than Tuesday's night turnout of about a 100. They moved about in small groups of 5-6 people. By 9:30 pm, the neighborhood was quiet again.
Earlier, police had revealed that of the 45 people arrested yesterday, 31 had a police history and had already been accused in total of 242 offences. Brussels Mayor Freddy Thielemans said the riots were not caused by protesters who wanted to express their anger, but rather by people who knew each and who had interest in causing destruction. Police are examining photos taken during the skirmishes and will be making further arrests. The police chief emphasized that there had only been 50-80 people out on the streets Monday and Tuesday and that without the work of the preventive services who had been working closely together the past couple of days, the number would have been 200-300.
Source: HLN 1, 2 (Dutch)
See also: Brussels: Riots, Brussels: More riots
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