Brussels pays tribute to victims on 9th anniversary of terrorist attacks
The victims of the 2016 Brussels attacks were remembered at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station on Saturday. Officials held a minute's silence at 7:58 at the airport and 9:11 at the metro station, exactly nine years after the bombings took place.
Saturday marks the ninth anniversary of the Brussels bombings, when Islamic State carried out two coordinated attacks at Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station. The bombings left 32 people dead and 340 injured, with three more people dying from their physical or psychological injuries in the years that followed.
The victims were remembered on Saturday with a minute's silence at exactly the same time as the bombings. People then laid flowers at the memorial plaques while the names of the victims were read out.
Several ministers took part in a separate ceremony at a memorial at Schuman. Other representatives of the federal government, the Brussels-Capital Region and the City of Brussels were also present. The Royal Band of the Belgian Navy opened the ceremony, after which the names of the victims were read out and flowers were laid.
"Society is becoming increasingly polarised. New generations must continue to understand what an act of terror means"
Commemorations like Saturday's are very important, said Philippe Vansteenkiste, director of the victims' association V-Europe.
"It is a clear sign that [the victims] are not forgotten," he says. "But it is also important to be able to draw lessons from what has happened. Society is becoming increasingly polarised. New generations must continue to understand what an act of terror means, so that we can move towards a better future."
In December 2022, the largest assize trial ever held in Belgium began, lasting until September 2023. Eight of the 10 people on trial were convicted for their involvement in planning and carrying out the attacks. The civil part of the trial ended in October last year, with 18 million euros awarded to 980 survivors and relatives of deceased victims.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO / VIDEO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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