Meir, one of the busiest commercial centers in the city of Antwerp.
Following the Brussels’ Zaventem airport and Metro station attacks by terrorists, which claimed lives and caused injuries, a group of terrorists claiming to be ISIS, posted a message on Facebook that: “Antwerp will never have a good sleep,” since then the Antwerp police have increased secuirty to bring comfort to ‘Antwerpners’ amidst fear.
In today’s (8/4/2016) edition of Gazette Van Antwerpen, one of Belgium’s newspapers, reports that extra security is now in force, with heavily armed police, protecting citizens, after a mother warns the Antwerp police that her son has joined the Syrian fighters.
According to the woman, the intention of her son is to join other terrorists to target the famous commercial center Meir, City festival centers, and cinemas, to kill and destroy. Antwerp’s police boss Wouter Bruyns has confirmed the story.
The police have therefore issued a warning to everyone to keep away from Meir, one of the busiest shopping centers in Antwerp, and entertainment spots to avoid any bloodshed. Even though the mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, is working hand in hand with the police, to provide extra security throughout the city, many people are still afraid, because of the violent and unpredictable nature of the terrorists.
Part of the beauty of Antwerp’s Meir at a glance.
Already, the Belgian government has lost millions of revenue, following the closure of the Zaventem airport for a number of days, to restore the badly affected halls at the airport. Now that activities at Meir, one of the busiest commercial centers in the city, has been halted, no one can predict how bad it’s going to affect Belgium’s economy or the Province of Antwerp.
It’s really a sad shame what terrorism is doing to people’s lives.
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Hello Jacqueline, yes, terrorism has put all of in chains. The restaurants, cinema houses, and shops are completely empty. Wishing you a happy weekend.
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Could you please say where you saw the police warning to stay away from the area, because I haven’t seen such a warning? Having read a couple of articles in the local press, my understanding was that security will be tightened round the cinema, and shopping centres like Stadsfeestzaal, but I didn’t see mention of police advice to stay away.
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Thanks for the comments. Please, I read it in Friday’s edition of Gazette Van Antwerpen newspaper. Try to get a copy. Thank you.
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Also my partner just got in from Meir and says it is as busy as ever -packed in fact, so it is not the case that everywhere is empty.
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If you had taken your time to read the article you’ll have seen: In today’s (8/4/2016) edition of Gazette Van Antwerpen. That means that I read it from the newspaper. Try to get a copy and read it, before others think I misled. Thank you.
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I read GVA online today and saw details of no police warning to stay away. There is no tweet warning people to stay away. There is no warning to stay away on their website. Kindly post the link where the police advise to stay away. Thank you.
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Thanks for the comments Vanessa. Since you work for the City of Antwerp, you might have ample information. I will cross-check the publication on Monday at work to see where I went wrong. I have really enjoyed reading your probing comments because I also do that often. Thank you.
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