By Sudip Kar-Gupta
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Two people suffered gunshot wounds after rival groups clashed in Brussels in the early hours of Thursday, said the Brussels prosecutor’s department, as the Belgian capital’s problems with violent crime show no signs of abating.
The Brussels prosecutor said on Friday that police were called to Place de Bethleem in Saint Gilles – near the Gare du Midi station used by Eurostar – around 0230 GMT on October 30.
The two victims were found injured at the scene, with gun cartridges discovered nearby, while two other suspects were arrested. The injuries of those two victims are not life-threatening.
“The exact circumstances behind the incident will be the subject of a full-depth inquiry,” added the prosecutor, when asked if it was linked to rival drug gangs.
Brussels has been plagued by violence linked to drug gangs in recent years, and officials have said more than 100 of Europe’s most dangerous criminal networks operate in Belgium.
In February this year, authorities had to shut several Brussels metro stations as they hunted two suspects following a shooting linked to drug dealers.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta;Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
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