Brussels to stay on lockdown over ‘imminent’ terror threat
BRUSSELS was last night ordered to remain on lockdown, with soldiers and armoured vehicles patrolling the city’s streets amid fears of a repeat of the Paris attacks.
All schools will be closed today and the underground system will remain shut for a third day amid warnings several jihadi terrorists are at large in the Belgian capital.
The prime minister, Charles Michel, last night said the city would stay on the maximum terror warning level because of a ‘serious and imminent’ threat of co-ordinated attacks.
The threat level in Brussels was raised to the maximum level early on Saturday.
At a meeting yesterday it was decided to maintain it at the same level and it will be reviewed again today.
Officials last night warned that members of the jihadi terror cell behind the Paris attack were on the run in the city.
Bernard Clerfayt, mayor of the Schaerbeek area of Brussels, said: ‘There are two terrorists in the Brussels region that could commit very dangerous acts.’
Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon said ‘several suspects’ linked to the Paris attacks might be at large in the country.
Authorities had previously said Salah Abdeslam, one of the suspected Paris attackers, had crossed back into Belgium and could be armed with a suicide vest. But Mr Jambon said yesterday: ‘Unfortunately, the threat is wider than this figure.’
In Paris, police issued a photo of the as-yet-unidentified third attacker who died outside the Stade de France stadium. He is thought have been one of two terrorists who came into Europe last month through Greece, posing as a Syrian refugee.
Meanwhile, the Great Britain tennis team have delayed their departure for next week’s Davis Cup final in Belgium amid the security concerns.
The final is being held in Ghent, 35 miles north-east of Brussels. More than 1,000 British fans are expected to travel to support the team, which includes Andy Murray, as they take on Belgium.