LOOK. “Perpetrator used American weapon of war”
In recent years, people with terrorist plans have found it easier to obtain such heavy weapons, Nils Duquet of the Flemish Peace Institute told Radio 1. “Belgium is known for its illegal arms market,” although the size is not exactly clear. While assault rifles used to be reserved for the really tough guys, they have become more widespread due to increasing drug crime, according to Duquet. Much of the weaponry was smuggled west after the war in Yugoslavia.
Belgium is not doing enough about this, says Duquet, who advises the Flemish Parliament with his institute. Unlike, for example, the Netherlands and Sweden, the fight against firearms receives too little attention.
That should be better, because it helps to cut off terrorists. These often remain under the radar, but “as soon as you try to obtain a weapon you crawl out of the shadows and become visible to the services”. The perpetrator of Monday evening’s attack should have set off “all the alarm bells” at that moment, Duquet thinks.