Belgium: a far-right soldier with violent intentions on the run

A far-right soldier, probably in possession of firearms, was still untraceable Thursday in Belgium, a case of radicalization within the army which raises questions about a lack of surveillance. Jurgen Conings, 46, suspected of wanting to attack the Belgian state and a known virologist, may have taken refuge in a reserve of 12,000 hectares of forests and moors, where he is the subject of a vast manhunt by hundreds of police and military since Wednesday.

He has not been found since the discovery of his car late Tuesday afternoon on the edge of this reserve, the Haute-Campine national park, in the Dutch-speaking north, not far from the border with the Netherlands. “More than 400 people are sweeping this territory to try to resolve this dangerous situation,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Thursday afternoon in front of the deputies.

In order to reinforce the 250 Belgian police and 150 soldiers on site, neighboring countries, in particular the Netherlands and Germany, have been asked to provide police officers. Berlin “has approved a request for personal support from the Belgian authorities”, and German police officers “have now arrived in Belgium,” a spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry told AFP in the early evening, without specify number. For its part, the Dutch police said they were “on alert” and ready to intervene if necessary.

Jurgen Conings has not come forward after going to the military base where he works on Monday, where he is suspected of having stolen weapons. Late Tuesday afternoon his 4X4 was found near the village of Niel-bij-As, on the edge of a wooded area, with four anti-tank rocket launchers and ammunition inside. But it is “probably still in possession of a lighter weapon” and therefore remains potentially dangerous, the federal prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

This seasoned soldier, already gone on a mission in particular in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan according to the Flemish media, seems determined to attack representatives of the Belgian State and personalities, according to writings found by the investigators. Among his potential targets is the Flemish virologist Marc Van Ranst, one of the most prominent experts in the health crisis.

“Racist comments on Facebook”

Become the bête noire of the “anti-mask” and other opponents of restrictions on gatherings, this 55-year-old scientist is also used to taking positions against racism and xenophobia and regularly clashes with the far right on social networks. Flemish. Jurgen Conings is one of the “thirty” members of the Belgian army monitored by the military intelligence services for their “sympathies” with the extreme right, according to official sources. For the same reason, it has also been listed by Ocam, the Belgian organization for analyzing the terrorist threat, for three months, Alexander De Croo said Thursday.

“Information which had been transmitted to the Defense”, declared the Flemish liberal leader, calling on the army to “absolutely harden” its “internal procedures and controls”. “Calling for hatred and violence is unacceptable, whether it is virologists, scientists, political opponents. It is punishable by law ”, also said the Prime Minister

For her part, the Minister of Defense, Ludivine Dedonder, admitted to Parliament that Mr. Conings had been the subject of sanctions from his hierarchy in 2020 after having “made racist remarks” and “uttered threats” on Facebook. A complaint had even been filed by the staff, dismissed, according to her.

“It is clear that that was not enough” to prevent him from having access to weapons, lamented the French-speaking socialist minister. “There is no place in Defense for extremists or fascists,” she said. To facilitate research, the Haute-Campine park has been closed to the public since Wednesday, and a portion of the E314 motorway closed to traffic near Maasmechelen in the direction of Genk.