Belgian prosecutors have admitted a two-year-old Kurdish Iraqi girl was shot and killed by a police officer last week. It happened during a high-speed chase of a van carrying 26 refugees, including several children.

The case has highlighted the increasingly repressive Belgian immigration policy and pressure on police to intercept as many migrants as possible.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull spoke to the grieving family in an exclusive interview in Brussels. </s> A Belgian policeman fired the bullet that killed a two-year-old girl during a high-speed chase of a van transporting migrants in Belgium last week, prosecutors confirmed Tuesday.

Prosecutors announced the results of the probe into the death of Mawda Shawri, after officials said Friday that she had died from a bullet wound in the incident May 17 but did not say who had fired it.

The prosecutor's office in the southern town of Mons said the investigation showed only one bullet had been fired "during a dangerous high-speed chase over 60 kilometers (36 miles)" and traced it to a police officer.

"The officer who opened fire is overcome and disconsolate. He neither wanted nor could have imagined this," prosecutor general Ignacio De la Serna told reporters, according to the Belga news agency.

"It's a tragic event that everyone regrets, including the police officers," he added.

The police officer who fired the shot had appeared before a judge, who is reviewing all the evidence before deciding whether to press any charges, the prosecutor said.

The toddler died in an ambulance on her way to hospital.

The lawyer for the girl's family, Olivier Stein, told AFP that the prosecutors could have avoided confusion over how the girl died if they had questioned his clients directly.

But instead, he said, they had "treated them more like offenders than victims."

Stein said judicial authorities had told him the bullet was fired "at a moment when the van was traveling at 90 kilometers per hour" as police squad cars moved beside it. </s> The authorities in Belgium have admitted that a two-year-old girl who died after police opened fire on a van carrying migrants near Mons on Thursday was shot in the face.

Prosecutors had initially denied the account given to the Guardian by relatives of the girl, called Mawda, suggesting instead that she had been taken ill or died as a result of erratic driving.



The child was killed after a police patrol followed and intercepted a van containing 26 adults and four children, including Mawda, on a highway near the city of Mons in the early hours of Thursday morning.

She was travelling with her Kurdish-Iraqi parents and three-year-old brother. A source told the Guardian that police opened fire in an effort to stop the vehicle, which was being driven by alleged people smugglers to a lorry park on the coast. From there, the refugees were to be smuggled onboard lorries destined for the UK.



However, a source had told the Guardian that police opened fire on the van in an effort to force it to stop. A bullet is alleged to have penetrated the vehicle and hit the girl in the cheek.

Following the gunfire, it is understood that officers surrounded the vehicle in a 45-minute standoff as they assessed the situation. Upon opening the doors of the van, the child’s mother screamed for help. An ambulance was called and took the child to a Mons hospital, where she was pronounced dead. It is believed, however, that Mawda died at the scene.

Frédéric Bariseau, a spokesman for the Tournai prosecutor’s office, confirmed on Friday afternoon that Mawda died as a result of a gunshot injury, but said he could not confirm the provenance of the bullet.

“The autopsy determined that the cause of death was a bullet that entered the cheek,” said Bariseau.

“I want to be careful about saying that the bullet could be of police origin. We have to assess the evidence.

“Police have opened an internal investigation to determine the circumstances of the girl’s death.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The family of German-born Mawda have been placed in accommodation in Belgium. Photograph: Handout

In a statement released on Thursday, Bariseau had denied reports that the girl had been shot. “The little girl did not die as a result of police gunfire,” he said, suggesting several possible causes including illness, an accident inside the van caused by the driver’s behaviour, or a blow to the head.

Jan Jambon, Belgium’s interior minister, wrote on Twitter: “[a] tragic event with dramatic consequences. The investigation is ongoing.”

A source close to the family told the Guardian: “The family are worried that their daughter’s death will be covered up with no one being held to account. They have been told by the authorities that Mawda will be buried on Tuesday.

“Her family have been placed in accommodation in Belgium. However, they have been told that they have to decide whether they are seeking asylum in Belgium. They have until tomorrow to make up their minds, failing which they have to leave and might possibly be deported back to Germany, but this is unclear.

“Either way, authorities have stated that once they have ‘legally settled in a country’ they can claim Mawda’s body and have it transferred.”

The source alleged that the family had previously been smuggled to the UK but was deported to Germany last year by UK authorities since Mawda was born there, and is therefore a German national.



Two-year-old girl dies after incident involving armed police in Belgium Read more

Zakia Khattabi, co-leader of the Belgian Green party, Mawda’s death was the result of an “increasingly repressive” migration policy. “I want to extend our sympathy to the victim and the victim’s family,” she said. “But after emotion comes anger. We demand that the spotlight is put on this case and that political responsibilities are taken.”

Belgium’s federal government has been criticised for its increasingly tough stance on migrants. Theo Francken, the country’s immigration minister, said last year that Europe must turn back boats carrying would-be migrants across the Mediterranean.

“Taking a ticket on a smuggler boat does not give you free entrance into the European continent,” said Francken, a member of the Flemish separatist N-VA, the largest party in the governing coalition.

Earlier this year, Francken drew criticism for deporting Sudanese migrants, several of whom later said they were tortured after being returned home. </s> The toddler was killed after police followed and intercepted a van.

But later admitted a police officer fired the shot that killed a two-year-old Kurdish girl during the chase in Mons.

The local prosecutor general Ignacio De la Serna told reporters, according to the Belga news agency: “The police officer who fired the bullet is overcome and devastated. He never wanted nor could have imagined this.

“It’s a tragic event that everyone regrets, including the police officers … The shooter, whose intention was to stop the van, has been questioned and the examining judge is currently reviewing all the evidence before deciding whether to press any charges.”

Prosecutors initially refused to confirm whether Mawda Shawri had died after being shot in the cheek, saying instead she could have fallen ill or died as a result of erratic driving, but formally acknowledged the real cause of death after the autopsy results were released. </s> BRUSSELS — Belgian authorities on Thursday tightened security in the port of Antwerp after a Frenchman drove his car at high speed through a busy shopping area, forcing pedestrians to jump out of the way.

The federal prosecutor’s office said the car was intercepted late Thursday morning at the port docks and a man, identified as 39-year-old Mohamed R. and living in France, was arrested. Authorities then raised security in the centre of town.

In the car, authorities said they found knives, a shotgun and a gas can with an unknown liquid.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The incident appeared to have the hallmarks of several extremist attacks in Europe — a car in a busy area bent on mowing down pedestrians. Vehicles were used last year in attacks in Nice and Berlin, as well as on Wednesday in London, where four people died in a rampage close to Parliament.

The office said “because of these elements, and the events in London yesterday, the case is being taken on by the federal prosecutor’s office,” which usually deals with extremist attacks.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said “we remain vigilant. Our security services have done excellent work.” He also expressed sincere condolences to British Prime Minister Theresa May. We are working in close co-operation with our security and intelligence services, and of course I assured my counterpart that she could count on our support and co-operation.“

The events happened a day after the nation held remembrance services for the Brussels airport and subway attacks, which killed 32 people on March 22, 2016.

Belgium has been living under the second highest anti-terror alarm ever since, and soldiers in the busy shopping street were immediately involved in trying to control and stop the car, which was speeding away at high speed. </s> Firefighters and Police officers stay next to an ICE highspeed train at the main station in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 29, 2019. German police say a child has died after apparently being pushed onto the tracks in front of a train at Frankfurt’s main station. Frankfurt police tweeted that they believe a man pushed the child onto the track Monday. They said that one person was arrested and they are investigating whether he was the perpetrator. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — An 8-year-old boy was run over by a train and killed at Frankfurt’s main station on Monday after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said.

The mother and then the boy were pushed onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany’s busiest. The mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries.

The suspect then apparently tried unsuccessfully to push another person onto the track, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station. He was being questioned and there was no immediate information on his possible motive.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy’s mother was taken to a hospital and also was being questioned. There was no immediate information on her injuries.

Police said that the suspect is an Eritrean citizen but did not immediately release further information.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer issued a statement condemning “this appalling act in the strongest terms” and cautioning against drawing conclusions before more is known.

Seehofer said that in view of “several serious crimes” recently, he would interrupt his vacation and meet the heads of security authorities Tuesday.

He didn’t specify what he was referring to, but Monday’s incident followed a case earlier this month in which a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a train and killed in Voerde in northern Germany. The suspect in that case, a German-born Serb, is in custody. </s> The man tried to drive into a crowd at high-speed in a shopping area in the port city of Antwerp. (Photo: Representational/AP)

Brussels: Belgian police arrested a man on Thursday after he tried to drive into a crowd at high-speed in a shopping area in the port city of Antwerp, a police chief said.

The man was of north African origin and used a car with French registration plates, Antwerp police chief Serge Muyters said.

The incident came a day after an attack on the British parliament killed three people plus the attacker, as well as after the first anniversary of the Brussels attacks in which 32 people died.

"A vehicle with French plates has tried to drive at high speed into the Meir (shopping street). A man in camouflage was taken away," Muyters told a news conference.

"The pedestrians had to jump aside," he said. "My gratitude on behalf of all Antwerp to the soldiers who have intervened, the police services and the special intervention force," Antwerp mayor Bart de Wever tweeted. </s> (FRANKFURT, Germany) — An 8-year-old boy was run over by a train and killed at Frankfurt’s main station on Monday after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said. The woman and her son were pushed onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany’s busiest. The mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries.

The suspect then apparently tried unsuccessfully to push another person onto the track, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station. He was being questioned and there was no immediate information on his possible motive.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy’s mother was taken to a hospital and also was being questioned. There was no immediate information on her injuries.

Police said that the suspect is an Eritrean citizen but did not immediately release further information.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer issued a statement condemning “this appalling act in the strongest terms” and cautioning against drawing conclusions before more is known. Seehofer said that in view of “several serious crimes” recently, he would interrupt his vacation and meet the heads of security authorities Tuesday.

He didn’t specify what he was referring to, but Monday’s incident followed a case earlier this month in which a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a train and killed in Voerde in northern Germany. The suspect in that case, a German-born Serb, is in custody. </s> ANTWERP, BELGIUM: Police in the northern Belgian city of Antwerp said yesterday they had detained a man who tried to enter the main pedestrianised shopping street in a car at high speed, adding that security in the city would be stepped up.

"At about 11am (6pm, Singapore time) a vehicle entered De Meir at high speed due to which pedestrians had to jump away," a police spokesman said, referring to the street name.

He added that the driver was arrested and additional police and military personnel had been deployed to the centre of Antwerp, Reuters reported.

"Different arms were found in the boot - bladed weapons, a riot gun (rifle) and a container of liquid that is still unidentifiable," a prosecutor's statement said.

Antwerp police chief Serge Muyters said: "Our army colleagues spotted it and tried to bring the vehicle to a halt. But the driver broke free and drove through the red light towards the port quays.

"The suspect, a man of north African origin, was immediately arrested."

The federal prosecutor's office, which has taken over the investigation, named the suspect as Mohamed R, a 39-year-old resident of France.

An army disposal squad was sent to the scene.
Belgian prosecutors admit that a 2-year-old child was killed by police during a high-speed chase with a van last week, after initially denying it.