The Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever has banned an anti-Islam demonstration in the city which was planned for next Monday in the port city of Belgium.
The extreme right wing group called "Vlaams Belang" earlier this week announced that the march was organised by the Flemish branch of the anti-Islam organisation Pegida that was formed recently in Belgium.
Since October 2014 Pegida has been organising anti-Islam public demonstrations in Germany.
A counter demonstration in Antwerp on the same day has also been banned. The office of Antwerpآ’s Mayor in a statement said that "In the current context both demonstrations pose a risk to public safety and as such would require a large police presence. This is why the police advised against allowing the demonstrations to take place, advice that was followed by the Mayor." Belgium is on heightened security alert after police shot and killed two terrorist suspects in the city of Verviers in eastern Belgium last week.