No evidence suggests a link between the Christmas market attack in Germany and Belgium, confirmed outgoing Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) on Sunday.
The Coordinating Body for Threat Analysis (OCAM) is monitoring the situation, but there is no concrete threat at present, Van Tigchelt explained on the Zevende Dag (VRT) programme.
"What happened in Magdeburg remains highly unusual and there is no reason to panic," commented the minister, while acknowledging that copycat acts can never be entirely ruled out. However, there is no indication of this happening.
According to Van Tigchelt, the Belgian OCAM list does not include anyone with a profile similar to the Magdeburg suspect. "There is no one on this list who is or was Muslim and who has converted to right-wing extremism," he stated. However, about 50 individuals on the list with extreme right profiles are under surveillance.
Outgoing Home Affairs Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) also emphasised that there is currently no link between the events in Germany and the situation in Belgium. "But we remain vigilant and are not naive. We have seen copycat behaviour in the past," she said to VTM Nieuws on Sunday afternoon.
Members of Magdeburg's fire department stand at a makeshift memorial outside Johannes Church, near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Eastern Germany, on 22 December 2024. Credit: John Macdougall / AFP / Belga
Five people lost their lives and over 200 were injured in an attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market on Friday evening. A 50-year-old Saudi doctor, who practised in a nearby small town, is the sole suspect.
He was not known for jihadist sympathies; rather, his profile suggests he was a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Elon Musk. He was reportedly "displeased" with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany.
