BRUSSELS

A group of sympathizers of the PKK terror group on Monday tried to create a provocation in front of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The group of some 150 sympathizers chanted anti-Turkish slogans with pieces of cloth symbolizing the terror group and posters of its imprisoned ringleader Abdullah Ocalan before growing violent.

The group dismantled barricades surrounding Schuman Square and threw them at the police. The police responded by shooting tear gas at the supporters of the terrorist group, who also attacked them with chairs and stones.

The crowd then tried to march to the street where Turkish Embassy in Brussels is located, then to the square where EU institutions are located, but faced police obstacles.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Türkiye has long decried tolerance for the terror group and its supporters in Europe.

Provocation and melee

On Sunday, PKK supporters returning from so-called celebrations related to Nevruz in the city of Heusden-Zolder, about an hour from Brussels, went down a street with a large Turkish population carrying pieces of cloth symbolizing the terrorist group and posters of Ocalan.

Local Turks living in the city were outraged, and a brawl ensued.