Brussels is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to live with shootings in the Belgian capital having more than doubled in five years, according to local media.
Last year, 46 shootings took place in the city claiming the lives of three people, with a further 19 seriously wounded, reported Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, citing police statistics.
The figures, troubling on their own, do not take into account incidents involving the throwing of grenades and Molotov cocktails and do not include attacks targeting Belgian police.
Within the Brussels-Capital Region, the Molenbeek and Anderlecht districts saw the most shootings, recording 10 each in 2022.
According to Het Nieuwsblad, experts predict even more shootings this year; there have already been at least seven deadly incidents with more than 70 people wounded.
A burgeoning illegal drugs trade is seen as the main cause. An increase in violence has also been noted in the rest of Belgium, particularly in Antwerp, a city now frequently rocked by machine-gun and grenade assaults.
The eruption of such criminality is, observers say, the result of ethnic divisions among drugs gangs, with the so-called Albanian Mafia having most of the power and North-African players holding a more subservient role. Lately, however, a relative newcomer has apparently stepped up its activity in what many fear may result in a widespread turf war; the ‘Mafia from Marseille’ has made its presence felt with guns blazing in a bid to exert control over more territory.
Although the outbreak of much-feared region-wide gang warfare has not happened as yet, experts say it might only be a matter of time, given there is a flourishing black market for weaponry, where guns are easily obtained at low cost.
The illegal drug business is extremely lucrative and appeals particularly to young people, especially the disenfranchised.
Kids as young as 12 can apparently earn around €50 a day just to act as spotters reporting to gang members on local police patrols.
