Two people were shot dead in Brussels on the night of Saturday to Sunday, during two separate incidents. Half a dozen shootings apparently linked to drug trafficking - including one fatality - have taken place since the beginning of February in the Belgian capital.
Local authorities unveiled their strategy at the end of February to counter this wave of violence described as “unacceptable” by the head of security for the Brussels region. The Flemish port of Antwerp, the main gateway for cocaine into Europe, is regularly shaken by gang violence, but Brussels has until now been largely spared.