A rally will take place outside NATO's Brussels headquarters, where Powell is to hold talks with his EU and NATO counterparts, said an umbrella association gathering 250 Belgian pacifist groups.

"We are protesting against the trip" by Powell, due to arrive in Belgium late Wednesday as part of a hastily-arranged trip also taking him to Turkey and Serbia, the organizers said.

The protest at the high-security NATO complex, on the outskirts of the city near the international airport, will be followed by a sit-in outside the US embassy in downtown Brussels, they said.

Belgium is fiercely anti-war. Tens of thousands have attended demonstrations in February and March, while smaller protests are held regularly on Thursday evenings outside the US embassy.

Most of the protests have been peaceful, but police have had to use tear gas and water cannons to break up demonstrations, notably during an EU summit on March 20-21.

The protestors' demands include a ban on overflight rights for US aircraft and transit for military equipment. They also want Belgium to use its veto to block US requests at NATO linked to the Iraq war.

Powell, on his first trip to Europe since the Iraq crisis spiralled into war, is expected to focus on post-war reconstruction when he meets his EU and NATO counterparts.

SPACE.WIRE