Clashes took place in Brussels on Sunday evening against thugs and the police at the end of a major demonstration against racism and police violence in which nearly 10,000 people participated. Since the murder of the African-American George Floyd by a white policeman at the end of May, anti-racism demonstrations have multiplied in the United States and in the rest of the world.
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"We have nothing to do with these actions"
Broken shop windows, trash fires, throwing stones and material taken from construction sites: violence broke out in a shopping street in Matonge, the most important shopping and associative district in Africa, after the dispersal of the rally. Several people were injured during the incidents.
"We have nothing to do with these actions," said Taiyno Cherubin, a member of the organizing committee for the rally outside the Brussels courthouse. "We had a message of peace, our gathering was peaceful," he insisted.
Riot police cordoned off the area
The incidents erupted after the demonstration was dispersed. A hundred thugs are involved in these actions, according to indications obtained from police sources. The security forces deployed in the adjacent streets remained very discreet during the rally tolerated by the authorities of the capital.
Riot police cordoned off the area and received orders to make arrests. Self-propelled trucks were used to repel the rioters and put out the trash fires. "Some businesses have suffered significant damage. The police intervention continues," said Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere.