Police conflict with COVID protesters in Brussels

Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Sunday (December 5) to disperse protesters pelting officers with cobblestones and fireworks as an illustration in Brussels over government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions turned violent.

A couple of thousand protesters marched peacefully via the centre of the Belgian capital to the neighbourhood which hosts the headquarters of European Union establishments, the place the demonstration reached its finish level.

Within the EU quarter a gaggle of protesters carrying black hoods and chanting “liberte” (freedom) began to throw stones on the police, who reacted with teargas and water cannons, in line with footage and experiences from Reuters journalists current.

Demonstrators have been protesting guidelines imposed in October that oblige folks to point out COVID-19 passes to entry bars and eating places.

The protest adopted new measures introduced on Friday (December 3) to curb certainly one of Europe’s highest an infection charges, together with obligatory masks carrying for many major faculty kids and a lengthening of the college holidays.

In late November, a a lot bigger variety of demonstrators clashed violently with the police in Brussels. That led to dozens of arrests, accidents amongst law enforcement officials and widespread property injury.