Daily Sabah

Belgian soldiers, police clash in a protest over rise in the retirement age

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BRUSSELS Nov 16, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3

Police water cannon disperses demonstration organized by the Belgian military unions in Brussels to protest against a decision by the gov't to raise the retirement age. Nov. 15, 2016. (AFP Photo)

by Nov 16, 2016 12:00 am

Belgian soldiers, police clash in a protest over rise in the retirement agehttps://t.co/gzQP2IaDDb pic.twitter.com/vo4R99p8vh
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) November 16, 2016

Several thousand Belgian military personnel on Tuesday marched in the streets of Brussels over a rise in the pension age, at times clashing with police.

Authorities said 8,500 off-duty soldiers protested in the historic centre of the city, with riot police firing water cannon after receiving projectiles of smoke bombs and firecrackers from the protestors.

For the past year, Belgian military personnel have worked around the clock guarding government and EU buildings with Brussels under high alert after the deadly terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 and Brussels last March.

The government last month announced an increase in the pension age for soldiers to at least 63 years old from the current 56.

The protest landed on the King's Feast, an official holiday for soldiers who are banned from striking in Belgium.