Three suffer knife wounds in violent clashes at Turkish consulate in Brussels
AT LEAST three people have been stabbed outside the Turkish Consulate in Brussels.
A man receives treatment after being stabbed outside the Turkish Consulate in Brussels
The victims were injured in violent clashes which erupted between rival groups during voting in the Turkish constitutional referendum.
According to reports three Kurds were attacked by supporters of of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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A woman is carried into an ambulance after being stabbed outside the Turkish Consulate in Brussels
One of victims suffered stomach injuries and is understood to be in a serious condition.
Brussels police spokesman Ilse Van de keere said: ”We had to intervene because there were incidents, there were wounded and they were taken to be treated, and an investigation is under way.”
The Turkish Consulate in Brussel
The referendum could bring the biggest change to the system of governance in the country's modern history.
The changes would replace Turkey’s parliamentary system with an executive presidency, a change Mr Erdogan says is needed to avoid the fragile coalition governments of the past and to give Turkey stability as it faces numerous security challenges.
Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, currently a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister with the AKP, which he co-founded.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Since then, pushing his powers to the limit, he has continued to dominate politics by dint of his personal popularity and forceful personality.
Critics accuse him of increasing authoritarianism with the arrests and dismissal of tens of thousands of judges, police, military officers, journalists and academics since a failed military coup in July.
With the constitutional overhaul, the president would be able to retain ties to a political party, potentially allowing Erdogan to resume his leadership of the AKP, a move that opposition parties say would wreck any chance of impartiality.