Belgian journalists injured while reporting in Beirut await evacuation

A Belgian TV crew of two working for the Flemish independent broadcaster VTM injured in an attack in the Lebanese capital are waiting to be evacuated “as soon as possible,” according to Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.

“We will repatriate them as soon as their condition allows it”, Lahbib said on Thursday.

TV journalist Robin Ramaekers and his cameraman Stijn De Smet were assaulted, beaten and shot at on Wednesday night after a group of men accused them of working for Israel.

Ramaekers was hospitalised for injuries to his face, while De Smet had to be treated for gunshot wounds to the leg, according to the Belgian press.

“Last night there was a bombing in central Beirut. When Robin and Stijn wanted to run a report on that, they got wounded,” VTM’s owner DPG Media said in a statement Thursday. “Both are now in safety and are being cared for.”

The two and their fixer wanted to cover an explosion in central Beirut and were wearing press vests when they were accosted by a group of some 20 men who alleged they were spies, according to eyewitnesses.

De Smet was shot twice in his leg, while Ramaekers and their fixer were taken to a basement, beaten and questioned for hours. It took them some 20 hours to get back together, Ramaekers said in a statement to the Belgian press.

“Stijn has bullet holes in his passport and his phone. My shoes have been cut open in search of ‘evidence’,” he said.

“Stijn’s bullet wound and my broken eye socket and bruised ribs hurt, but it will mainly be on the inside that we will need some time to place and process it all.”

“We are in a safe place now, waiting for an evacuation flight that Stijn and I can get on. The war continues here unabated. It doesn’t feel good to step out, but that’s the way it is. We’ll be back,” Ramaekers concluded.