From 21 to 25 November 2015, the
government of Belgium
The Federal Government of Belgium ( ; ; ) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the politi ...
imposed a security
lockdown
A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
on
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, including the closure of shops, schools, public transportation, due to information about potential
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
attacks in the wake of the
series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris by
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
on 13 November.
One of the perpetrators of the attack, Belgian-born French national
Salah Abdeslam
Salah Abdeslam (; born 15 September 1989) is a Belgian-born Islamic terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in France in 2022 as the only surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, in w ...
, was thought to be hiding in the city. As a result of warnings of a serious and imminent threat, the terror alert level was raised to the highest level (four) across the Brussels metropolitan area, and people were advised not to congregate publicly, effectively putting the city under
lockdown
A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
.
Impact
On the first day of the lockdown, ''
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' described, "an atmosphere of war.
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
convoys passed through the streets.
Armored cars were posted at central points, outside the royal palace, and at underground railway stations."
Police requested a social media blackout to prevent disclosure of police operations.
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
users responded with
cat pictures (a reference to security level Four, or in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
, quatre pronounced cat).
On 23 November, the third day of the lockdown, all schools and universities remained closed along with the
Metro
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
.
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Charles Michel
Charles Michel (; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Miche ...
announced that the lockdown measures would stay in place, "for at least another week. But schools and the metro can be reopened gradually from Wednesday."
[Höchste Terrorwarnstufe in Brüssel verlängert ]
zeit, 23 November 2015
The lockdown caused disruption to major institutions and organizations headquartered in the city, such as
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, which removed all non-essential personnel on 23 November, and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, which opened on Monday with reinforced security measures. Belgium's biggest bank
KBC Bank
KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredi ...
entirely closed its headquarters on Monday.
As the lockdown continued into its third day, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
described the city as having "come to a standstill."
[ After 5 days, the lockdown was lifted on 25 November, schools reopened and the metro resumed service] but some stores remained closed. Like Paris, which saw a drop in tourism, Brussels saw an immediate drop in visitors and an increase in last minute hotel cancellations. Some shops, cafes and hotels that remained open reported 90% to 100% drop in business.
Costs
The lockdown is estimated to have cost €
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
51.7 million per day, counting both the outlay on security and lost business income. Belgium is also facing a demand from the police for a budgetary increment of €100 million to cover ongoing increases in costs due to the terrorism threat.[
The total cost was estimated at €350 million, and tourist numbers in December 2015 were down 20% on the previous December.] In January, in order to restore the city's reputation after the lockdown, Visit Brussels launched an initiative Call Brussels
Call Brussels, also known by its hashtag #CallBrussels, was an initiative by which people from around the world could dial public telephones in the Belgian capital Brussels, which were then answered by locals. It was initiated in January 2016 by B ...
in which members of the public could call public telephones in the city via their computer.[
]
Arrests and charges
A reported 1,000 police officers were involved in the search for Salah Abdeslam
Salah Abdeslam (; born 15 September 1989) is a Belgian-born Islamic terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in France in 2022 as the only surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, in w ...
. Over the weekend police conducted at least 20 raids around the city and nearby areas, making 16 arrests but releasing 15 of these people. Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said 23 November that a man had been charged with involvement in the Paris terrorist attacks and for membership of a terrorist organization. On Monday 21 more arrests were made, with 17 released.
On 24 November, evening prosecutors announced terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
charges had been filed against four men:
*Hamza Attou and Mohammed Amri. Lawyers for these two men said they had admitted driving Salah Abdeslam from Paris to Brussels after the Paris attacks but said they had nothing to do with the attacks.
*"Ali O.", a 31-year-old French national who lived in Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels.
*"Lazez A.", a 39-year-old Moroccan also from Molenbeek arrested on 19 November. Two pistols and traces of blood were found in his car.
Aftermath
King Philippe of Belgium addressed the Brussels lockdown and Paris attack in his annual Christmas Address. He said during his speech, ''"My special thanks go to all those who have fought for it and continue to work to ensure our safety, to identify the perpetrators of these attacks and to prevent new ones. These events have shown how important it is to invest in the judiciary, police, army and intelligence services. I also want to thank you all, and especially the people of Brussels, for your dignified and responsible behavior during this difficult time."''
Precedents
Extended lockdowns of entire urban areas because of terrorism have been rare; the European Union called the Brussels lockdown "unprecedented". The extent of the lockdown went well beyond measures taken the last time Belgium declared a level four alert in 2007. One previous example of a citywide lockdown was the one-day lockdown of Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in April 2013 as police hunted for the Islamist terrorists responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing
The Boston Marathon bombing, sometimes referred to as simply the Boston bombing, was an Islamist domestic terrorist attack that took place during the 117th annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarna ...
.
See also
*January 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium
On 15 January 2015, Belgian police carried out a raid on premises in Verviers, Belgium. According to news sources, the raids were an anti-terrorist operation against Islamist radicals.
Operations
Two suspects died in the raids, which involved ...
* 2015 Saint-Denis raid
*2016 Brussels bombings
On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in and close to Brussels, Belgium, were carried out by the Islamic State (IS). Two suicide bombers detonated bombs at Brussels Airport in Zaventem just outside Brussels, and one detonated a b ...
*Brussels ISIL terror cell
The Brussels Islamic State terror cell was an Islamic terrorist sub-group involved in large-scale terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 (130 killed) and Brussels in March 2016 (32 killed). The terror cell was connected to the Islamic Sta ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brussels lockdown, 2015
Lockdown
A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
City lockdowns
Counterterrorism in Belgium
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Belgium
Manhunts
November 2015 Paris attacks
Law enforcement operations against Islamist groups