Nikolic to attend 'Belgium Remembers' WWI centenary event

BRUSSELS - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will join numerous European leaders in Belgium on Tuesday at an event marking the 100 years since the First Battle of Ypres.

The commemorative event named 'Belgium Remembers' will bring together many European heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The city of Ypres near the Belgian-French border was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles of the Great War and the site of the first military usage of toxic gas Yperite.

The event will be hosted by King Philippe of Belgium, in honor of his ancestor King Albert I, who refused to flee the country after it was occupied and instead joined his soldiers on the front in an attempt to fend off the German invasion.

Photo Tanjug, S. Radovanovic (archive)