Netherlands labels Ter Apel asylum centre a security‑risk zone and opens indoor day shelter

The Dutch government has designated the area around the Ter Apel asylum‑seeker registration centre as a security‑risk zone after a series of fights and stabbing incidents. From Wednesday a vacant DISA office building on the site will be repurposed as a daytime shelter where new applicants are registered and can stay during the day; in the evenings they will be bussed to other temporary night‑accommodation locations.

Minister Bart van den Brink announced the deployment of extra surveillance cameras, four additional security guards, two special police officers and the authority to conduct preventive searches. Strict house rules will deny entry to anyone who causes violence or disturbance and may lead to criminal prosecution. The measures follow a period during which the Red Cross and VluchtelingenWerk suspended their work on the site and have now resumed after the security steps were put in place.