Dozens detained as rioting hits locked-down Brussels

Forty-three people were detained by police in the Belgian capital on Saturday when rioting broke out following a fatal accident between a police vehicle and a young man on a scooter, authorities said.

The unrest began on Friday night when a police patrol in Anderlecht, a district of Brussels, attempted to stop a 19-year-old driving on a scooter.

The police gave chase, but the scooter collided head on with a second police vehicle killing the scooter driver on the spot.

After several incidents on Friday, riot police spent several hours on Saturday dispersing young protesters who had gathered following a call on social media.

Anderlecht mayor Fabrice Cumps told AFP that two police officers were lightly injured in Saturday's incidents, one hit by a projectile and another a victim of a malaise.

Several protesters were also lightly injured, he said.

Cumps said the situation was "clearly under control" but that police remained mobilised and expected more incidents later in the night or on Sunday.

The mayor said he met with the family of the motorcyclist on Saturday and that he believed the death was being used as a false pretext by trouble-makers.

Belgium has been on lockdown for four weeks in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Cumps said the police patrol that encountered the scooter driver was out enforcing the rules of the confinement, but said there was no known link with the lockdown.