Officials dismantle migrant tents in Belgian capital Brussels

By Selen Temizer

BRUSSELS (AA) - Local municipality officials in Belgium's capital Brussels removed the tents of migrants waiting to be admitted into the city's asylum center in the city.

Municipal officials dismantled tents set up outside of the Petit Chateau, the headquarters of Fedasil, the Federal Agency for the reception of asylum seekers in the city, which hosts major EU institutions.

Not allowed inside the building, the migrants had erected the tents to spend the night at the site amid their long wait to file asylum applications.

The officials descended on the tents in the early hours of the morning as migrants continued to wait under the rain, gathering their personal belongings.

On Oct. 18, the director of the Fedasil, Isabelle Plumat, told reporters that the center was nearly full and had been "on alert" in recent months. There was a one-day strike at the center due to overcrowding on the same day.