BRUSSELS, Belgium - A Belgian policeman who shot and killed a two-year-old Kurdish girl during a high speed chase of a van transporting migrants has been charged with manslaughter, his lawyer told AFP Thursday.

According to the officer's account, when the van refused to stop during the May 2018 pursuit on a motorway south of Brussels, he opened fire once, aiming at the front tyre -- only for his shot to be misdirected as a result of a sudden swerve by his driver.

The van was reportedly taking the 30 people inside to a lorry park, where they would be helped into trucks bound for the United Kingdom.

The bullet struck the main part of the van, hitting Mawda Shawri in the head as she sat with her parents behind the driver. She died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

The toddler, who was from Ranya in the Kurdistan Region, had been taken to Europe by her family for economic reasons.

Following her death, Mawda’s parents faced a long battle to remain in Belgium.

The policeman's lawyer Laurent Kennes said the charges were filed by registered mail in December and criticised the move as a procedural irregularity.

"It was for prosecutors to do in the indictment," Kennes said, referring to the prospect of a trial, likely to be heard by the end of the year.

The policeman is free but two other suspects are in custody in Belgium -- the driver of the van and the people smuggler suspected of putting the migrants, Kurds from Iraq, into the vehicle.

The pair, both Iraqi nationals, have been charged with "malicious obstruction of traffic with aggravating circumstances" and "armed rebellion", the weapon being the van, which hit the police car in pursuit.

AFP