Belgian police have said a body has been found in the search for a fugitive far-right soldier.
Hundreds of security forces scoured a swath of north-east Belgium after the disappearance on 17 May of Jurgen Conings, who was on an anti-terrorism watchlist, had threatened a senior virologist involved in the country’s Covid-19 programme and had hoarded heavy weaponry.
A body was found on Sunday by people walking in the woods near the town of Dilsen-Stokkem. Police said initial evidence indicated it was Conings and that he killed himself, but further examination was under way.
Conings, 46, had hidden anti-tank missile launchers and other heavy arms in an army barracks before disappearing. He had threatened several people in recent months, including the virologist, and landed on the federal anti-terrorism watchlist in February.
Conings had a three-decade career behind him as an expert marksman before he started making threats and racist remarks on Facebook. He was handed disciplinary sanctions but still allowed to work with weapons.