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Troubles on the Belgian border, the “Saxon” battlegroup intervenes

(BRUSSELS2) “ unrest between two rival ethnic groups broke out », Saturday, in Eksel, a small town in Belgian Limburg, we learn. " The situation began to escalate, accompanied by chanting and the throwing of projectiles. »

A permanent European Battlegroup intervened. An armored infantry unit is placed in interposition between the two groups. Helped by Pandur armored vehicles and a water cannon, they managed to separate the two groups, and restore calm...

I stop the description there because, even if the photos are eloquent, in the current Belgian situation, it is better to say right away that it is a purely FICTITIOUS scenario. This is an exercise for the 1700 Dutch, German, Austrian, Finnish and Lithuanian soldiers who are training on the side of the Belgian-Dutch border. This "EU battlegroup" (1) will be on duty in the first half of 2011 as part of the European rapid reaction force.

(1) The "Saxon" battlegroup in training

(photo credits: Bundesheer / Austrian Ministry of Defence).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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