defence
The five Belgian soldiers who were injured in a brawl in Beja, Portugal, were attacked by Portuguese. This is reported by Defense, according to the first elements of the investigation by the Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office. Portuguese media reports that a 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the attack.
A Belgian detachment is currently in Portugal as part of an exercise. The brawl broke out during a trip to a bar in Beja, injuring five soldiers from the 15th Air Transport Wing. One of them had to remain under observation in the hospital overnight.
“According to the first elements of the investigation by the Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office, our five soldiers may have been victims of an attack by the Portuguese involved,” Defense said in an update on the incident on Tuesday. The five soldiers “are all doing well and are back with their detachment, which will return to Belgium at the end of this week.”
Main suspect
Portuguese media write that a 30-year-old man was arrested in Beja on Monday. He is considered the main suspect in the attack on at least one Belgian. He has been transferred to the Polícia Judiciária, the national criminal investigation department that focuses on serious crimes.
Defense supports the investigation by the Portuguese police. That investigation is still ongoing.
It is not the first time that Belgian soldiers have been discredited abroad. A similar incident took place in Norway in mid-February. Then four Belgian soldiers were arrested after a fight with local residents in a café in Åndalsnes. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Battalion Commando from Flawinne (Namur) and took part in the ‘Exercise Arctic Training’, organized by the Special Operations Regiment. The investigation has now ended. Four Belgian soldiers will have to appear before the Norwegian court later this year.
