BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The Belgian military's participation in international peacekeeping operations and NATO exercises has been put in question, as the country's troops are currently occupied with providing domestic security amid the high terror threat level, local media reported Tuesday.
As the RTL broadcaster reported, it has already been decided that the Belgian army will skip four out of the 44 planned peacekeeping missions and drills, and its participation in 11 other engagements of this kind is as yet undecided.
According to the broadcaster, currently 1,576 Belgian service personnel are helping police ensure security in Belgium, with another 58 soldiers guarding nuclear power plants and another 40 are helping to maintain security in prisons in Brussels and the French-speaking region of Wallonia, where prison guards have been on strike for three weeks.
The Belgian army numbers 30,000 soldiers. Only a third of them are said to be ready for action, as the remainder are temporarily not fit for service for health of other reasons.
