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Belgium siege: Armed men enter Ghent apartment | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Four armed men have entered a flat in the Belgian city of Ghent and police have sealed off the surrounding area. | Four armed men have entered a flat in the Belgian city of Ghent and police have sealed off the surrounding area. |
Unconfirmed reports suggested that the four had taken a man hostage and police urged residents to remain indoors for their own safety. | Unconfirmed reports suggested that the four had taken a man hostage and police urged residents to remain indoors for their own safety. |
The men burst into the flat in the Dampoort area of the city, in northern Belgium. | The men burst into the flat in the Dampoort area of the city, in northern Belgium. |
Reporters at the scene said later that up to three people had given themselves up without violence. | |
But it was not yet clear whether the siege was continuing. | |
Local prosecutors said there was no indication of any link to terrorism or jihadist group Islamic State. | |
"This isn't the same sort of incident as the events in Sydney," spokeswoman Annemie Serlippens said. | |
The head of Ghent police Filip Rasschaert told De Standaard website that they were carrying out the operation carefully because of the potential involvement of a hostage. | The head of Ghent police Filip Rasschaert told De Standaard website that they were carrying out the operation carefully because of the potential involvement of a hostage. |
Federal authorities were now in control of the siege, he said. | Federal authorities were now in control of the siege, he said. |
"They have all they need to bring a successful end to a hostage-taking," he said. | "They have all they need to bring a successful end to a hostage-taking," he said. |
Ghent resident Ruben Denys, who was within the police cordon, told the BBC: "There are police officers around the building, at the back and on people's terraces. A truck has arrived with ladders. They have guns." | |
Belgian TV said that another siege had taken place in Ghent in October, involving a man implicated in an earlier hostage-taking. That incident involved an unpaid debt, it reported. | Belgian TV said that another siege had taken place in Ghent in October, involving a man implicated in an earlier hostage-taking. That incident involved an unpaid debt, it reported. |