Six injured after knife attack at Kurdish demonstration in Antwerp | Belgium

Six people were injured after a stabbing attack at a demonstration in Belgium on Thursday evening, police said.

Police spokesman Wouter Bruyns said two of the victims were in critical condition in hospital after the incident near the Operaplein in the port city of Antwerp.

Bruyns said police were able to capture two suspects involved in the demonstrators based on initial findings.

According to local reports, four of the stabbed men were found in the square, while the other two were found near Rooseveltplaats and Sint-Elisabethstraat.

Police said the incident was being investigated as a case of attempted murder “not terrorism” and that officers were looking at CCTV footage to ensure no other suspects had evaded arrest.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper, the demonstration in front of the Opera House, attended by about 50 people, was initially peaceful.

Flags of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and national flags were flown during the protest in support of Kurds in northern Syria, where Kurdish-led forces are fighting against the government’s advance.

However, the situation escalated further shortly after the demonstration ended around 19:20 local time.

Orhan Kılıç, spokesman for the Navbel group representing the Kurdish diaspora in Belgium, said that families, women, youth and children participated in the protest.

He said: “As the protest was dispersing, a group of men attacked the Kurdish demonstrators.

“These men sneaked into the demonstration and suddenly took out their knives and started stabbing people indiscriminately.

“It is clear that this attack was not an isolated example of senseless violence, but a motivated attack on a community.”

Forensic officers were seen in the square and police appealed to people to stay away from the area.