A parade on Sunday afternoon of Kurds with their flags completely escalated on Sunday evening. Hundreds of people took to the streets. The Lindeman district was closed off. The Kurds, who were hiding in a house, were evacuated around 7 p.m. At least 6 people were injured on Sunday evening. One of them was in serious condition. The provincial intervention plan has been announced, VRT reports.
Mireille Maes/Zahra Boufker/Roel Damiaans
Yesterday at 10:47 PM
On Sunday afternoon, several cars with Kurdish flags drove through Koolmijnlaan. Alain Yzermans, mayor of Houthalen-Helchteren: “According to the information we have, a Turkish youth was tackled by the demonstrators during that parade. And that news spread through the neighborhoods like wildfire. A few hundred of them went to Kolderstraat where the Kurds were hiding in a house.”
The police cordoned off the house to keep people out. Some car windows were shattered. A water cannon and a helicopter were used to disperse the people. The area was closed off. The action is led by the CARMA police. Teams have been sent from various other police zones to calm the riots there.
The situation remained tense all evening. “The people in the house were evacuated. Their cars were seized. And the police will be patrolling here all night. The rioters now seem to be moving towards the mine sites because it is rumored that buses of Kurds are on their way here. We will monitor the situation all night from the crisis center in the town hall of Heusden-Zolder.”
In the meantime, the first reports of injuries during the riots also came in. It would involve at least six people who had received blows or had been stabbed. The first injured were taken to the hospital in Heusden, later three were also taken to Genk. One of the injured is said to be in serious condition.
Tags: Confrontation Kurds Turks Limburg escalates injured people hospital HeusdenZolder
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