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More than 10,000 at Brussels unity march: police

More than 10,000 people marched through the Belgian capital Brussels on Sunday in one of the biggest marches outside France in solidarity with the Paris terror attacks, a police source said.

A huge “Brussels is Charlie” electronic sign in French, Flemish and English stood atop a city centre building as the march kicked off at about the same time as a massive rally in Paris, AFP reporters said.

People at the head of the march held banners saying “United against hate” and “Freedom of speech” and several young people draped themselves in the French flag.

Police had counted “between 10,000 and 15,000” about half an hour after the start of the march, the police source told AFP.

The march was largely silent, with strains of French national anthem La Marseillaise ringing out.

Representatives from Muslim and Jewish associations took part in the rally while top Belgian cartoonist Philippe Gelluck also attended to show support for murdered colleagues from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The European Union, which is based in Brussels, has meanwhile sent its top three officials to the march in Paris.