Hundred of Protesters Detained in Brussels After Standoff With Police

A hundred of protesters were arrested Saturday in the Brussels community of Molenbeek after a standoff with riot police, local media said citing police reports.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Some 400 protesters gathered in the central square of the Muslim-dominated district in the Belgian capital earlier on Saturday, the Belgian news agency Belga reported.

The situation escalated after police apprehended seven far-right activists, two of whom carried pepper sprays. Five were on their way to a rally of left-wing activists protesting "Islamophobia," although the demonstration was dispersed and around thirty people were detained.

Tensions have been on the rise in the immigrant-majority area which has been the center of police raids in the Paris attacks investigation.

Far-right groups planned to hold a rally against immigrants in the district on Saturday, but Belgian authorities banned all mass gatherings over the weekend.

Two suicide blasts ripped through the departures hall of Brussels Airport in the northeastern municipality of Zaventem on March 22. A further explosion occurred at the Maelbeek station near the headquarters of the EU institutions. A total of 31 people, including 3 suicide bombers, died in the attacks. More than 300 were injured.