Concerns Over Terrorist Attack Cancel New Year's Eve Celebrations in Brussels

The Brussels municipality, the capital of Belgium, has announced that due to concerns over terrorist attacks, the fireworks and New Year's Eve celebrations will not take place in the city. The decision to cancel the annual New Year's Eve event was announced on Wednesday night. According to AFP, Brussels Mayor Ivan Mayeur stated that last year over one hundred thousand people gathered for the New Year's celebrations in the capital. The last time the New Year's Eve fireworks were not held in Brussels was in 2007, when police received messages and information about plans by individuals and groups to free a Tunisian national named Nizar Trabelsi, who had been arrested and imprisoned for conspiracy and an unsuccessful attempt to blow up a military base in Belgium. While Brussels officials canceled the New Year's Eve celebrations out of fear of terrorist attacks, Belgian police also raided two homes in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels on Wednesday. According to Reuters, the Belgian federal prosecutor reported the arrest of a 22-year-old young man during this search. The arrested individual, referred to as Ayoub B., has been charged with participating in terrorist operations and collaborating with a terrorist organization. Belgian security forces and police have been searching for suspects linked to the Paris terrorist attacks since last November, in Belgium and neighborhoods of Brussels. At the same time, news agencies reported increased security measures in major cities and European capitals, including Berlin and Paris, ahead of the annual New Year's Eve celebrations. The New Year's Eve event on the Champs-Élysées in Paris has been limited to a light show, and there will be no fireworks in Paris this year, which is part of the New Year's celebrations in the city. On Thursday, AFP reported that Turkish police arrested two suspects in connection with a bombing in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, coinciding with the New Year. The tightening of security measures ahead of New Year's Eve was the main headline in some European newspapers published on Thursday. The newspaper 'El País' dedicated its front page to the topic with the headline 'Europe strengthens New Year's Eve security due to fears of bombings.' 'El Mundo,' Spain's second-largest newspaper, also addressed the issue of threats and fears of terrorist attacks with the headline 'New Year's celebrations in Europe under the shadow of terrorist threats.'