(Brussels Times) Military patrols will be maintained on the streets of the country’s cities until 2 December at the earliest, the government has decided.
In May this year, the caretaker administration of Sophie Wilmès took the decision to bring an end to the patrols in September. However, the new government of Alexander De Croo said it considers it advisable to allow the patrols to remain a little longer.
The idea was proposed by defence minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS) and home affairs minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V).
Operation Vigilant Guardian, as it is called, was set up in January 2015, more than a year before the terrorist attacks on Brussels, as a reaction to the attack in Paris on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, and the breaking-up of a terrorist cell in Verviers in Liege province.
