Teenager's killing raises fears over violence in Belgium

A teenager stabbed to death after refusing to offer his killer a cigarette was buried today amid concerns about rising violence in Belgium.

Bart Bonroy, 18, was buried in his hometown of Bredene, near the North Sea port city of Ostend, where he was killed last weekend by a teenage attacker. A friend also was injured in the stabbing.

Officials said the two friends had been approached by the assailant but either refused to share a taxi or to offer a cigarette. Authorities have arrested and charged a suspect with assault.

Some 2,500 people, including provincial and national politicians, attended the burial. The church was packed during the requiem Mass for Bonroy.

Prime minister Guy Verhofstadt denounced the killing as an act of senseless violence.

It was the third such incident in less than a year. Last April, a teenager killed a youth at Brussels Central train station after the victim refused to hand over his MP3 player.

In May, an 18-year-old shot and killed a toddler and her baby sitter in northern Antwerp, prompting a march against violence.