INTERNATIONAL: Belgian police fired water cannon and tear gas Sunday at stone-throwing protesters after tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched through Brussels against Covid-19 rules.
Authorities have estimated that around 50,000 people paraded through the Belgian capital, the largest in a spate of protests in the city over the past months.
Clashes have broke out close to the headquarters of the European Union as police used water cannon and tear gas to push back hundreds of protesters who hurled paving stones and firecrackers.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned the "senseless destruction and violence" after masked attackers have smashed a glass entrance at the offices of the bloc's diplomatic service.
Officers were later forced to seek shelter in a metro station as they were pelted with metal barriers.
Police have said that around 70 people were arrested, including a dozen for more serious offences including throwing projectiles and damaging property.
Three officers and 12 demonstrators were hospitalised, but none were in a life-threatening condition.
Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo says ; "Freedom of expression is one of the foundations of our society. Everyone is free to express their opinion.But our society will never accept indiscriminate violence, and even less towards our police forces. Those involved this Sunday will be prosecuted."
A sandwich shop and the European External Action Service building were damaged during the protest, with glass broken and debris inside and outside the buildings.
Earlier protesters had thrown wood at the police.
Prime Minister De Croo has announced Friday ,January 21, that people will need booster shots after five months to maintain COVID-19 passes giving access to bars or cinemas.
That five-month limit is among the tightest in Europe. For neighbouring France, it is seven months, while the EU-wide guide for travel within the bloc is set at nine.
COVID-19 infections in Belgium are at their peak now at 40,929 new infections reported each day.
There have been 2,697,239 infections and 28,780 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.
