Two people were shot dead in Brussels on the night of Saturday to Sunday, during two separate incidents, against a backdrop of an increase in crime linked to drug trafficking, we learned from police sources on Sunday.
The first shots, which left one dead, were heard in Laeken in the north of the Belgian capital, according to a spokesperson for the Brussels police.
A few hours later, a new shooting took place in a neighborhood near the center, where a person was found seriously injured.
Transported to hospital, she did not survive her injuries, said another police spokesperson.
Half a dozen shootings apparently linked to drug trafficking - including one fatality - have taken place since the beginning of February in the Belgian capital, where problems linked to the consumption of "
crack"
in the streets are increasing.
Under pressure after these high-profile incidents, 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, Sophie Lavaux.
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.