A two-year-old girl has died after a van carrying around 30 Kurdish refugees was chased by armed police in Belgium.
Police said they were not at fault for the girl’s death and have revealed that there was a scuffle and shots were fired.
“The little girl did not die as a result of police gunfire,” said Frédéric Bariseau, a spokesperson at the Tournai prosecutor’s office, which is handling the case.
According to him there might have several possible causes for the girl’s death: an illness, an accident inside the van caused by the driver’s behaviour, or a blow to the head.
An investigation has also been established to determine whether police action had contributed to the girl’s death or there were any other reasons.
Police found 26 adults, three children and the body of the girl inside the van. The occupants were arrested and will be questioned at a local police station.
Police tried to stop the van because it was being driven in a strange manner, they said. It was also carrying false number plates.
Sources said Mawda and her family are Kurdish refugees who had recently been deported to Germany but had returned to Belgium, from where they were planning to make their way to the UK.
> Shiuly Rina
