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| Tensions Erupt in Brussels, and Police in 4 Countries Make Arrests | Tensions Erupt in Brussels, and Police in 4 Countries Make Arrests |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BRUSSELS — The police in at least four countries arrested new suspects during the weekend in the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, as memorials in central Brussels to the victims of Tuesday’s bombings were briefly overrun by hooligans. | BRUSSELS — The police in at least four countries arrested new suspects during the weekend in the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, as memorials in central Brussels to the victims of Tuesday’s bombings were briefly overrun by hooligans. |
| Angry protesters gathered near the Brussels stock exchange on Sunday. Chanting “Belgie barst” — or “Break up Belgium,” a Flemish slogan used by one of Belgium’s nationalist far-right parties — they brandished flares and threw water bottles at peaceful demonstrators who were holding banners proclaiming unity. | Angry protesters gathered near the Brussels stock exchange on Sunday. Chanting “Belgie barst” — or “Break up Belgium,” a Flemish slogan used by one of Belgium’s nationalist far-right parties — they brandished flares and threw water bottles at peaceful demonstrators who were holding banners proclaiming unity. |
| “This is very dangerous,” said Anne Kluyskens, 61, who lives on the outskirts of Brussels and had come to the center of the Belgian capital to show solidarity with the attack victims and other Belgian citizens. “The extreme right are as dangerous as the jihadists. They have a message of hate.” | “This is very dangerous,” said Anne Kluyskens, 61, who lives on the outskirts of Brussels and had come to the center of the Belgian capital to show solidarity with the attack victims and other Belgian citizens. “The extreme right are as dangerous as the jihadists. They have a message of hate.” |
| “Perhaps their actions are not yet as violent, but it is the same message,” she added. | “Perhaps their actions are not yet as violent, but it is the same message,” she added. |
| The police used water cannons to drive back the far-right protesters, and the square was reopened after the brief clash. The episode, however, was a reminder of the tension in the city after the terrorist attacks that killed 31 victims, and of the anger fueling far-right parties here and around Europe who want to sharply limit immigration. | |
| According to a Brussels police spokesman, Christian de Coninck, quoted by the Belga news agency, about 340 hooligans supporting various Belgian soccer clubs had come to Brussels from Vilvoorde, a Flemish town a 20-minute drive from the capital. Mr. Connick told the news agency that the men had made “fascist salutes.” | According to a Brussels police spokesman, Christian de Coninck, quoted by the Belga news agency, about 340 hooligans supporting various Belgian soccer clubs had come to Brussels from Vilvoorde, a Flemish town a 20-minute drive from the capital. Mr. Connick told the news agency that the men had made “fascist salutes.” |
| The diverse, peaceful crowd attending the informal gathering for the victims on Easter, in the square in front of the historic Brussels stock exchange, was far larger than those that had gathered earlier in the week, because many people had come to the capital for a planned March Against Fear, which was canceled a day before. Among those lighting candles and taking photos were blond, blue-eyed Belgians; Muslim women, their heads covered with the hijab; and dark-haired men from Belgium’s large Moroccan community. | The diverse, peaceful crowd attending the informal gathering for the victims on Easter, in the square in front of the historic Brussels stock exchange, was far larger than those that had gathered earlier in the week, because many people had come to the capital for a planned March Against Fear, which was canceled a day before. Among those lighting candles and taking photos were blond, blue-eyed Belgians; Muslim women, their heads covered with the hijab; and dark-haired men from Belgium’s large Moroccan community. |
| Some held up flags of various countries, and one group had a banner that said, “Pas au Nom d’Islam,” meaning that the terrorist attacks had not been done in the name of Islam. Many lit candles in memory of those who had died, and some in attendance said they had friends who had been injured at the Maelbeek station. | |
| Yousra Ziani, 16, a Belgian high school student whose parents emigrated from Morocco, said her parents had advised her against going out because they worried about her safety. She felt she had to come, saying, “It is important to show our unity and solidarity as Belgians.” | Yousra Ziani, 16, a Belgian high school student whose parents emigrated from Morocco, said her parents had advised her against going out because they worried about her safety. She felt she had to come, saying, “It is important to show our unity and solidarity as Belgians.” |
| Ms. Ziani said she lived on the street in the Forest neighborhood where a shootout on March 15 injured four police officers and killed Mohamed Belkaid, one of the men suspected of being involved in planning the attacks in Paris and Brussels. | Ms. Ziani said she lived on the street in the Forest neighborhood where a shootout on March 15 injured four police officers and killed Mohamed Belkaid, one of the men suspected of being involved in planning the attacks in Paris and Brussels. |
| “The raid in Forest happened just in front of my eyes,” she said. | “The raid in Forest happened just in front of my eyes,” she said. |
| The arrests announced over the weekend in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands underscored that the European authorities have yet to get a handle on the extent of terrorist networks on the Continent. | The arrests announced over the weekend in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands underscored that the European authorities have yet to get a handle on the extent of terrorist networks on the Continent. |
| An Algerian man suspected of being part of a counterfeiting ring that provided forged documents to people involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks was arrested in Italy, the Italian authorities announced on Sunday. | An Algerian man suspected of being part of a counterfeiting ring that provided forged documents to people involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks was arrested in Italy, the Italian authorities announced on Sunday. |
| The Belgian government had issued a European arrest warrant for the man — whom the ANSA news agency identified as Djamal Eddine Ouali, 40 — on Jan. 6, the Italian State Police said. Mr. Ouali’s name emerged during searches in October in the Saint-Gilles borough of Brussels, where police found around 1,000 digital images used to make false identity documents. | The Belgian government had issued a European arrest warrant for the man — whom the ANSA news agency identified as Djamal Eddine Ouali, 40 — on Jan. 6, the Italian State Police said. Mr. Ouali’s name emerged during searches in October in the Saint-Gilles borough of Brussels, where police found around 1,000 digital images used to make false identity documents. |
| ANSA reported that the forgery ring had produced false documents used by three men: Mr. Belkaid; Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in the Paris attacks, who was captured in Brussels on March 18; and Najim Laachraoui, one of two suicide attackers who struck Brussels Airport on Tuesday. | |
| The Algerian man had recently applied at an immigration office in Italy for a residency permit, and a police check found that he was wanted by the Belgians. He was arrested while walking on Saturday afternoon in Bellizzi, a town in the southwestern Salerno Province. | The Algerian man had recently applied at an immigration office in Italy for a residency permit, and a police check found that he was wanted by the Belgians. He was arrested while walking on Saturday afternoon in Bellizzi, a town in the southwestern Salerno Province. |
| On Friday in Germany, the police detained two people also suspected of links to the attacks: One was picked up during a routine identity check in a town north of Frankfurt. Text messages on his cellphone appeared to be from one of the men who carried out Tuesday’s suicide attacks, according to German news reports. | On Friday in Germany, the police detained two people also suspected of links to the attacks: One was picked up during a routine identity check in a town north of Frankfurt. Text messages on his cellphone appeared to be from one of the men who carried out Tuesday’s suicide attacks, according to German news reports. |
| The Belgian prosecutor’s office issued a news release on Sunday saying 13 searches had been carried out that morning in French- and Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium. The release said the arrests were related to a terrorism case but did not say whether they were directly tied to the attacks in Brussels. | The Belgian prosecutor’s office issued a news release on Sunday saying 13 searches had been carried out that morning in French- and Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium. The release said the arrests were related to a terrorism case but did not say whether they were directly tied to the attacks in Brussels. |
| Nine people were taken in for questioning, with five of them later released. The prosecutor’s office said no further details were available, pending the outcome of the searches. | Nine people were taken in for questioning, with five of them later released. The prosecutor’s office said no further details were available, pending the outcome of the searches. |
| And late Sunday, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutors’ office confirmed that the police in the Netherlands had arrested a 32-year-old man in Rotterdam at the request of the French police on the suspicion that he had been involved in planning attacks in France. | And late Sunday, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutors’ office confirmed that the police in the Netherlands had arrested a 32-year-old man in Rotterdam at the request of the French police on the suspicion that he had been involved in planning attacks in France. |