The threat of right-wing and anti-government extremism is increasing in Belgium, according to a State Security intelligence report published on Thursday.
Belgium's State Security (VSSE) is particularly concerned with a trend within right-wing extremism which is the "worrying radicalisation of young people."
An increasing amount of young people are becoming radicalised online, which in some cases turns them into "hateful propagandists" and "keyboard warriors" who incite hatred and violence, according to VSSE.
"The graphic style and the highly hateful and downright violent content of their messages on various social media platforms, such as Telegram, bear certain resemblances to the Islamic State's glorification of violence several years ago," the report states.
War in Ukraine and rising energy prices increased distrust
The VSSE stressed that right-wing extremists are increasingly "targeting the government or other symbols of the 'establishment' with their discourse. They call the press the 'mainstream media' or 'left-wing lie press'."
Yet the government is more and more becoming the aim instead of what the VSSE called the "classic" targets of rightwing extremism, which include asylum centres, mosques or synagogues.
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"Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and rising energy prices, it is striking that right-wing extremists are once again trying to stir up anger and hatred against the government," said the VSSE. The pandemic was a big factor in the rise of anti-government extremism, with restrictions adding fuel to the distrust of governments or "the establishment."
The VSSE has alerted police forces and the public prosecutor's office to cases of radicalised youths. "The timely detection and prevention of these impressionable and impulsive young people turning to violence will be a serious challenge for the VSSE and the other intelligence and security services in the coming years."
