EU nation’s capital plunged into turmoil on New Year’s Eve (VIDEOS)
Brussels descended into chaos on New Year’s Eve, as rioters hurled Molotov cocktails at Belgian emergency services and set vehicles ablaze. Police made dozens of arrests, according to local officials, media reports, and videos on social media.
The authorities reported 159 arrests on Wednesday during the overnight unrest, which saw at least 60 vehicles torched across Brussels, which is the seat of the EU Commission and NATO headquarters.
“It was really crazy,” Walter Derieuw, spokesperson for the Brussels Fire Department, told Politico. “We were there to help, and we were getting Molotov cocktails thrown at us.”
Youth gangs in Brussel’s worst no-go zone Molenbeek used Molotov cocktails to attack the police and fireworks to assault firefighters on New Year’s Eve 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/duBkonWIj6
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 2, 2025
Videos shared on social media show young men clad in black damaging emergency services vehicles, pounding them with sticks and hurling incendiary devices, while also throwing fireworks at police.
This is Brussels. We need mass deportations now. pic.twitter.com/p8fMha4lq5
— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) January 1, 2025
Molenbeek and Anderlecht districts, widely regarded as no-go zones and hotbeds of crime, were the epicenters of the disorder. Molenbeek has gained notoriety in recent years, with former Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel saying at one point, “almost every time there is a terrorist attack, there is a link with Molenbeek.” He was referring at the time to media reports that Islamist extremists who organized the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris in 2015 sourced their weapons from the district.
The New Year’s Eve unrest occurred despite the implementation of extra measures to ensure safety during the celebrations, including enhancing the presence of police and fire services. The authorities in Anderlecht also imposed a nighttime curfew for minors aged under 16 on New Year's Eve to “protect young people.”
Brussels ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in Europe, coming in 18th in the crime index, according to the Numbeo database.
According to official figures, nearly 18% of the population living in Belgium is foreign-born, with the figure reaching 46% in the capital region. The country has recently seen another uptick in immigration, partly caused by the Ukraine conflict, with 233,000 and 194,000 new immigrants recorded in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
