Six people were screaming on the pavement before anyone understood what was happening.
A peaceful Kurdish protest in Antwerp shattered into panic,
knives flashing in the middle of families and children.
Four suspects slipped from the crowd in handcuffs,
but their true motive remains buried in fear,
anger, and denials of terror. Witnesses speak of chaos,
sirens, and a community that feels targ… Continues…
What began as a show of solidarity with Kurds in northern Syria ended in blood on the stones of Operaplein. Around 300 people had gathered, many with children, waving Kurdish and PKK flags, when men who had quietly blended into the crowd suddenly drew knives. Within seconds, six people were down, two critically injured, as panic tore through the square and families scattered in terror.
Witnesses recall people running in every direction, the air filled with screams and sirens, a victim lying motionless except for a faint movement of his arm. Kurdish representatives insist this was a targeted attack on their community, not random madness. Police, treating the case as attempted murder but “not terrorism,” are trawling CCTV to confirm no attacker escaped. For Antwerp’s Kurdish diaspora, and for a city already on edge, the unanswered question is chillingly simple: why them, and why now?
What began as a show of solidarity with Kurds in northern Syria ended in blood on the stones of Operaplein.
Around 300 people had gathered, many with children, waving Kurdish and PKK flags,
when men who had quietly blended into the crowd suddenly drew knives.
Within seconds, six people were down, two critically injured,
as panic tore through the square and families scattered in terror.
Witnesses recall people running in every direction, the air filled with screams and sirens,
a victim lying motionless except for a faint movement of his arm.
Kurdish representatives insist this was a targeted attack on their community,
not random madness. Police, treating the case as attempted murder but
“not terrorism,” are trawling CCTV to confirm no attacker escaped.
For Antwerp’s Kurdish diaspora, and for a city already on edge,
the unanswered question is chillingly simple: why them, and why now?
