'Violent ex-soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan' massing at small boat launch sites on Belgian coast

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Violent" ex-soldiers from countries such as Irag or Afghanistan have massed at small boat launch sites on the Belgian coast, police have revealed.A growing number of military men have been spotted "accompanying" the boats - making it too dangerous for police to intervene, local force chief Nicholas Paelinck said this week.With French authorities taking a stricter approach to monitoring the would-be migrants, small boat smuggling gangs have moved to launch from Belgium.But armed men have rendered authorities impotent to stop the boats."Normally, we try to puncture the boat beforehand to prevent the crossing to the United Kingdom," Mr Paelinck said.

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TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say "But that is not possible here, because you see ex-military personnel from Iraq circling the boat to ensure the police cannot get to it.

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Officers were threatened by the soldiers, and a mirror was even smashed with an iron bar.

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We conducted a risk analysis, and it is too dangerous to operate on that beach...

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