Military in rail stations leads to 'fewer incidents', defence minister says

The number of incidents in Brussels metro and train stations has fallen significantly since the start of the "Urban Shield" military operation in April, according to Belgium’s defence minister Theo Francken (N-VA).

The operation has cost more than €4 million to date and entails deploying around 30 soldiers - at the request of the federal government - in Brussels’ train and metro stations to support the police.

“Many passengers thank our staff for this, and cooperation with the police is going extremely well,” Franken said, adding that “at present, there is no definitive end date”.

The measure followed a rise in drug-related violence in the capital and was extended by a further six months in September.

Francken described the operation as “necessary” and said the number of criminal offences in Brussels metro stations has fallen by 16.8% since April. For railway stations, the figure is a 7.1% decrease.

Francken had previously described security in the Brussels metro and at the Brussels-North and Brussels-Midi railway stations as “simply dire”.

Operation "Green Shield", which entails the military protection of Jewish institutions and neighbourhoods, also remains necessary, Francken said.

Since the operation began in April, military personnel have reported 163 incidents, 22 of which were directly related to anti-Semitism, which Francken described as “a problematic phenomenon”.

MP Annick Ponthier (Vlaams Belang) took issue with Operation Green Shield, saying the army should not be responsible for patrol duties or the security of Jewish neighbourhoods.

“There is no legal framework and they have zero powers to do what they would need to do in the event of a threat,” Ponthier said.

“Soldiers are standing there and are having to make up for the government’s shortcomings [in providing adequate policing]. I find that disrespectful.”

About 200 military personnel in total are deployed for security operations on Belgian territory.

This is done using a rotation system, ensuring that military personnel are not deployed for the same mission for too long and that the impact on training and operational readiness is kept to a minimum, said Francken.