PKK supporters in Belgium provoke, attack Turkish community

Belgium police used water cannons to disperse PKK terror group sympathisers who were rioting and attacking Turkish-origin citizens in the Heusden-Zolder district of Limburg province near the capital Brussels.

A group of PKK sympathisers who were returning from Nevruz (spring) celebrations on Sunday morning, while carrying flags symbolising the PKK terror organisation, passed through a street primarily populated by Turkish-origin citizens and shouted provocative slogans.

The Turks responded to the group, resulting in an altercation.

Police teams arrived at the scene, where some vehicles had been set on fire, forcing them to use water cannons to control the situation.

Deputy Mayor Yasin Gul of Heusden-Zolder told Anadolu that PKK sympathisers assaulted a Turkish-origin citizen while chanting provocative slogans.

"We've been living here as Western European Turks for 60 years. We have never had such an incident in our municipality before," Gul said.

He said nearly one-fourth of the municipality's population are of Turkish descent.

Local authorities had already taken precautions in response to reports that PKK sympathisers from neighbouring cities and countries were attending the Nevruz event, he added.

Provocation in front of European Parliament

A group of sympathisers of the PKK terror group on Monday tried to create a provocation in front of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The group of some 150 sympathisers chanted anti-Turkish slogans with pieces of cloth symbolising the terror group and posters of its imprisoned ringleader Abdullah Ocalan before growing violent.

The group dismantled barricades surrounding Schuman Square and threw them at the police. The police responded by shooting tear gas at the supporters of the terrorist group, who also attacked them with chairs and stones.

The crowd then tried to march to the street where the Turkish Embassy in Brussels is located, then to the square where EU institutions are located, but faced police obstacles.

During its terror campaign against Türkiye spanning over 35 years, the PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU, has caused the deaths of over 40,000 individuals, encompassing women, children, and infants.