Deadly attack in Belgium ignites fierce debate on failures of deportation policy

SAMUEL PETREQUIN

BRUSSELS (AP) — The suspected attacker who killed two Swedish soccer fans in Brussels this week before he was shot dead by police resided in Belgium illegally and had been ordered to leave Belgium years ago. He never left. In a country that has been repeatedly rocked by extremist attacks, the government’s inability to deport the 45-year-old Tunisian national and prevent him from carrying out his attack is sparking a fierce political debate. Many questions remain unanswered, as Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson traveled to Brussels on Wednesday to attend a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims and meet his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo. De Croo stressed that orders to quit the Belgian territory need to be better enforced.