Houthalen-Helchteren (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Riots in Limburg involved Kurds and Turks after a Newroz celebration in Kessel-Lo. Police arrested 9 people, seized 10 cars, and accused 7 of crimes. Mayors and police worked to restore peace.
The mayor of Houthalen-Helchteren is happy, he says that last year was scary. There was a lot of fighting between Turks and Kurds and riots took place in Houthalen-Helchteren, Heusden-Zolder and Brussels. The police kept everyone safe. Mayor Houthalen-Helchteren and the mayor of another town worked together. They wanted the Kurds and Turks to stop fighting.
He mentioned that he wants everyone to learn from what happened. He thinks everyone has a lot in common. The mayor says the problems are over. He and other people talked to the families. Everyone is safe. The police have a plan. They are ready to keep everyone safe. People in the community talked to each other. They agreed to be peaceful. He hopes everything will be good today March 21, 2025. He hopes there will be no more fighting.
Will security measures in Houthalen-Helchteren prevent future Turks-Kurds riots?
The police are working hard to find out who started the riots in Limburg. They watched a lot of videos from cameras. They arrested 9 people in the first week. They also wrote 30 reports about what happened. They took 10 cars. The police wanted to find everyone who was involved. They are looking at videos, talking to people, and looking for evidence.
Police are holding meetings to decide what to do with the rioters. The police are accusing 7 people of doing the wrong things, such as injuring people, harassing people, and hindering traffic flow. More meetings will take place in May 2025 and June 2025.
The police are looking at what happened in other countries, like the UK, where they punished people who did bad things in big riots. The police in Limburg want to make sure that people know that they will be punished if they do bad things. They want to stop people from doing bad things in the future.
On March 24, 2024, many Kurds from Belgium and other countries came together in Kessel-Lo to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year. They had music, dancing, and other cultural activities. Later that day, some Kurds drove to Heusden-Zolder, a town with many Turkish people. The Kurds were driving with their flags and honking their horns.
Some Turkish people thought this was meant to upset them. Then there was a fight, and one Turkish person was injured badly. This made other Turkish people angry, and they started to riot in Limburg. Many people were injured in the fighting, and the police had to stop the rioting.
The fighting got worse. Many Turkish people gathered in one street and surrounded a Kurdish family in their house. The family was scared and had to hide for a long time. There were also fights between Kurds and Turks in other cities.
In Brussels, people who supported the Kurds had a protest near the European Parliament, but it turned violent when the police tried to stop them. In Ghent, some businesses owned by Kurds were damaged, and the police arrested many people. The government is trying to keep everyone safe and wants the Kurds and Turks to talk to each other.
The police are still working to make sure everything is calm. They are using a helicopter, a water cannon, and many officers. During the fighting, people broke car windows, burned flags, and hurt other people. 6 people were injured. The Kurds and Turks are blaming each other. People are still saying bad things about each other online.
