Belgian army worried about use of military bases as refugee shelters: report

Unions representing military personnel in Belgium have voiced concern about the use of army barracks as accommodation centres for asylum seekers, local media reported on Monday.

According to the Sudpresse newspaper group, the four main military unions are meeting defense officials Monday and they are worried that security could be compromised by offering emergency shelter on army properties.

The unions say the use of army barracks as temporary accommodation had been imposed by the Belgian government without any consultation with the army.

Gilles Van Oosthuijze, director of the SLFP Defense union, told the newspaper: "It's incredible. The country is on a level-two terror alert and we are welcoming asylum seekers who we know nothing about into the barracks."

He added: "In Tournai (western Belgium) they come and go as they please, they're using their smartphones and even taking photos of the soldiers. These people have not been screened."

Van Oosthuijze said there was also a health risk because the refugees could potentially be carrying diseases.

Some 300 asylum seekers are due to be given accommodation at an air base at Koksijde, on the Belgian coast, and another 200 at a base in nearby Nieuwport.

Meanwhile, the Belgian navy frigate Leopold I on Monday began its journey from the port of Zeebrugge to the eastern Mediterranean as part of a coordinated European operation against criminal networks of people smugglers, who are helping migrants reach European shores.

De Morgen newspaper reported that a crew of 175 are on board the Belgian ship for the operation, which will begin on Wednesday and run until late December.

Phase one of the exercise involves identifying the networks that operate and the routes used by smugglers. Phase two will involve seizing suspect vessels in international waters, more than 12 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. Endit