Military to remain on patrol in Belgian cities until December

The Belgian Council of Ministers has decided to maintain another month of military deployment in the country’s major cities as part of Operation Vigilant Guardian (OVG) in support of the federal police, despite the new government's stated desire to end it.

“Defence support is maintained at 550 military personnel for a period of one month, from 3 November to 2 December,” the government said in a statement on Saturday. “This number also takes into account a reserve capacity that can be immediately deployed.”

On the proposal of the minister of defence, the Council of Ministers approved the continued deployment of military personnel on the ground, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Support to the Integrated Police Service for Surveillance Missions, the statement added.

The Coordinating Body for Threat Analysis (OCAM) conducted a new threat analysis on 20 October. The threat is maintained at level two (on a scale of four). “A number of potential targets are maintained at Level 3,” the statement said.

The Belgian government nevertheless still plans to bring an end to OVG, a stance validated at the beginning of October.

The government statement on ending OVG stipulates that “the military presence on the street will be phased out” taking into account the staffing capacity of the federal oolice, the impact of the local police and the development of the new Directorate of Security (DAB) within the federal police.

The military has been present on the streets and around nuclear sites since 17 January 2015, following the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and the dismantling of a jihadist cell in Verviers.

Some 300 military personnel are still engaged, said the head of defence, Admiral Michel Hofman, who also wants to end OVG.