On Monday, Belgian authorities raised the alert status to level 4, the highest on the scale that measures the risk of a terrorist attack. The crisis office adopts this measure, described as “very serious”, when it interprets a “threat” situation as “serious or imminent”.
The decision comes after an attack with a weapon in the center of Brussels, which left two dead and one injured. The attack was claimed by a man who claims to be “the aggressor”, acting “inspired by the Islamic State”, Belgian authorities announced.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who arrived in Belgium on Monday, had planned an informal meeting with the Portuguese community in Brussels to attend the broadcast of the Bosnia-Portugal match.
But, “when leaving the private dinner offered by His Majesty King Felipe and Her Majesty Queen Matilda”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was informed that “there was a situation, which coincided with the game that was being played – if in Brussels, between Belgium and Sweden, where there was violence,” the President of the Republic informed journalists, already at the hotel, where the authorities advised him to “go directly.”
“In reality, there was the violent death of two Swedes. And this had the consequence that I should have gone to a Portuguese commercial establishment to watch the game with the Portuguese. [Portugal-Bosnia] and the competent authorities understood that I had to go directly here to the hotel,” he stated.
Authorities confirmed that the attacker fled after the shots were fired. In a video published on social networks, in which the attacker claims responsibility for the deaths, “the Swedish nationality of the victims is mentioned as a possible motivation for the act,” indicates a note from the Belgian crisis office.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was informed by authorities about the security setup in Brussels and advised to stay at the hotel with his entourage.
“At this moment, what I know is that (…) the aggressor effectively invoked a religious factor associated with a problem that would have occurred, (…) in Sweden, not many months ago and that, therefore, this gave a characterization that is being studied by the authorities,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
These elements discovered by the Federal Police led to the adoption of “urgent security measures to better protect Swedish fans against possible new attacks.”
Coincidence
Asked if he sees in this attack, which the Belgian authorities are investigating as an attack, any connection with the worsening situation in the Middle East, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gives another reading, considering “premature, at this moment, to establish a link between this and what is happening in the Middle East”.
“It seems to be another previous issue that appears now, at this moment, due to a very simple fact, due to the opportunity that this football challenge has. [Bélgica-Suécia] ended up creating, objectively, this situation that I regret and that I have already had the opportunity to regret to His Majesty for having occurred here,” he stressed, also considering “regrettable if it turns out that it really is a terrorist gesture.”
Debate at Middle East summit
In Brussels, where his three-day state visit to the Kingdom of Belgium begins this Tuesday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also appealed to the “unity” of the European Union, on the day when the 27 meet by videoconference to discuss the situation in The middle east.
“The European Union has another difficult but important challenge here, at a time when the world, due to the war in Ukraine, is facing a change in the balance of powers and when, in many cases, it is the Union European Union and only the European Union can play an important role there, more than other powers or in collaboration with other powers in the world,” stated the President of the Republic, considering that “for this it is essential, as has happened in Ukraine, to act in unity, act quickly, with anticipation and with the ability to predict events”.
The extraordinary summit takes place ten days after Hamas attacks in southern Israel, and at a time when there are fears of an invasion of Palestinian territory by the Israeli armed forces.
Also on the table in the videoconference is the warning about the possibility that the conflict in the Middle East will trigger a wave of migration to the countries of the region, with “a significant number of refugees already in their own territory,” says the president of of the European Council, Charles Michel, in the letter he addressed to European leaders.
“Engagement with regional actors” is an option considered “crucial”, considering that those who suffer the greatest impact of the conflict “can play an effective role,” he says, stating that his objective is “not to lose sight of the importance of seeking a “durable and sustainable peace based on a two-state solution.”
In a position already expressed unanimously, the 27 consider that all efforts must be resumed to relaunch “the peace process in the Middle East.”
Recalling the role of the European Union in humanitarian support to Ukraine, the President of the European Council maintains that humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable must now also be strengthened, while all possible efforts must be made to prevent the regional escalation of the crisis . conflict in the Middle East.
Source: TSF
