Six people were injured, two of them critically, in a knife attack during a Kurdish demonstration in Antwerp on Thursday evening, Belgian police said.
Four suspects were arrested at the scene near Antwerp’s Opera House, and all victims were taken to hospital, police spokesman Wouter Bruyns said.
The motive for the attack has not yet been determined. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage to ensure no additional suspects evaded arrest. The incident is being investigated as attempted murder, and police have clarified that it is not being treated as a terrorist attack.
The stabbings occurred at approximately 7:20 p.m. while members of the local Kurdish community were demonstrating in support of Kurds in northern Syria.
According to initial findings, the suspects had mingled with the demonstrators before attacking them, authorities said. Orhan Kilic, a spokesperson for Navbel, a group representing the Kurdish diaspora in Belgium, said families, women, young people, and children were attending the event.
“Just as the protest was disbanding, the Kurdish demonstrators were attacked by a group of men,” he added. He described the incident as “a motivated attack on a community,” rather than isolated senseless violence.
