Fight at tent camp gets out of hand: six people taken to hospital, one of whom is in life-threatening condition | Brussels

UPDATEA major fight broke out at the new tent camp in Ixelles, near Flagey Square, on Saturday morning. Six people were injured. One of them is in mortal danger. The precise circumstances of the incident are not yet clear. A judicial investigation was started.

“At 6.30 am our teams received a report of a fight at the tent camp on the Heilige-Kruisplein in Ixelles,” says Ilse Van de Keere, spokeswoman for the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone. “Around ten people were involved in the incident. Ultimately, six people were injured. One of them is in mortal danger.” These are probably asylum seekers who stayed in the tent camp.

“Broken in to steal”

According to the collective ‘Stop the Shelter Crisis’, some people from outside the camp broke into the tents and tried to steal phones. “Tensions rose and a fight broke out,” the collective wrote in a press release.

According to the police services, it has not yet been confirmed that it concerns people from outside the camp. “The investigation is ongoing,” it said. According to the police, the perpetrators of violence may also come from the camp itself. Six people were taken to hospital, including one person with life-threatening injuries. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the precise circumstances of the incident.

The police meanwhile closed the camp, according to Stop the Shelter Crisis. “The asylum seekers who stayed in the tents no longer have access to the tents or their belongings. The municipality of Ixelles is threatening to clear the camp today without offering an alternative to the residents,” it said.

2,100 asylum seekers on the streets

On Friday evening, activists and residents of the squat in Wetstraat moved to a new tent camp for asylum seekers on Place Sainte-Croix in Ixelles, next to Place Flagey. Previously, the justice of the peace decided that the asylum seekers had to leave the building in Wetstraat. “These asylum seekers are part of the 2,100 people who currently have to survive on the streets because they do not receive shelter from Fedasil and the federal government,” says Stop the Shelter Crisis.

“This violence is mostly invisible and takes place every day in abandoned buildings and hidden camps. The Flagey camp is just the tip of the iceberg,” explains Sacha, spokesperson for Stop the Shelter Crisis. “By expelling and dispersing people from this camp, they will be left alone in the face of this kind of violence,” the collective believes.

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