Brussels lockdown
| 2015 Brussels lockdown | |
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| Part of the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks | |
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| Type | Lockdown |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Objective | Prevention of an imminent Paris-style attack and capture of fugitive Salah Abdeslam |
| Date | 21 November 2015 – 25 November 2015 |
From 21 November to 25 November 2015, the government of Belgium imposed a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, public transportation, due to information about potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on November 13. One of the perpetrators of the attack, Belgian-born French national Salah Abdeslam, was thought to be hiding in the city. As a result of warnings of a serious and imminent threat, the terror alert level was raised to the highest level (four) across the Brussels metropolitan area, and people were advised not to congregate publicly, effectively putting the city under lockdown.
On the first day of the lockdown, Haaretz described, "an atmosphere of war. Army convoys passed through the streets. Armored cars were posted at central points, outside the royal palace, and at underground railway stations." Police requested a social media blackout to prevent disclosure of police operations. Twitter users responded with cat pictures (a reference to security level Four, or in French, Quatre pronounced Cat).
On Monday, 23 November, the third day of the lockdown, all schools and universities remained closed along with the subway. Prime Minister Charles Michel announced that the lockdown measures would stay in place, "for at least another week. But schools and the metro can be reopened gradually from Wednesday."
The lockdown caused disruption to major institutions and organizations headquartered in the city, such as NATO, which removed all non-essential personnel on Monday, and the European Union, which opened on Monday with reinforced security measures. Belgium's biggest bank KBC Bank entirely closed its headquarters on Monday.
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Wikipedia