9 November 2005

BRUSSELS — In the third successive night of unrest in Belgium, vandals torched cars, trucks and cellars in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent on Tuesday, while two suspected arsonists were arrested after they were admitted to hospital for burns injuries.

Belgian police suspect agitators are committing copy-cat acts to the arson attacks witnessed during heavy rioting in France in the past two weeks.

However, a spokesman for the federal government's crisis centre said each case was an "isolated" incident and that there were no large gathering of youths. The crisis centre also said there were no clashes with police.

Despite the assurances, Ghent police are taking the attacks very seriously, but also warned against overreacting: "This does not make a Paris of Ghent".

Police commissioner Steven de Smet and immigrant youths had together reached the same conclusion earlier on Tuesday, but unrest was still reported in the Flemish city overnight.

The Ghent public prosecution office said two car fires were reported within minutes of each other, but only one is being treated as an arson attack.

That car was located in the Kriekerijstraat in Sint-Amandsberg. The other fire, on the Hogeweg, was accidental.

"It is an exceptional coincidence that the burning of both cars happened directly after each other, but they are not connected," Mayor Frank Beke said.

Police have a description of the Kriekerijstraat arson suspects, newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' reported on Wednesday.

Police commissioner De Smet is taking the arson attack very seriously and said police will conduct a very thorough investigation. "But we must not panic either. For now, we cannot say there are indications of systemic violence."

Meanwhile, two male youths were arrested in Antwerp for an arson attack in the Van Kerckhovestraat. The suspects are Belgian citizens of immigrant background aged 17 and 19.

"We have sufficient indications that they were involved in the arson," Antwerp public prosecution official Dominique Reynders said.

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