Several people were injured and taken to hospital after supporters and
opponents of the Turkish government clashed outside the country's consulate in
central Brussels on
Thursday, Belgian police said.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the violence, which he
linked to a forthcoming referendum in Turkey on increasing the powers of
President Tayyip Erdogan.
"The Belgian government has absolute zero tolerance for any
spillovers from the Turkish referendum. I condemn the riots at the embassy in Brussels,"
he said on Twitter.
A police spokeswoman said she could give no further details on the
number of people hurt or the nature of their injuries. The Turkish mission to
Brussels could not be immediately reached for comment.
Ties between Turkey and European Union states have deteriorated in
recent weeks over Turkish government attempts to rally support for Erdogan
among expatriate Turks.
Erdogan reacted with fury after Germany and the Netherlands - which,
like Belgium, have big Turkish minorities - moved to restrict political rallies
on their soil in the run-up to the April 16 referendum.
Kurdish news agency Firat said the Thursday incident took place as
people arrived at the consulate in Brussels to cast early 'no' votes in the
referendum. Reuters was not able to confirm that independently.
*Reuters*
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