Protesters have clashed with security forces and tried to force their way through a police block near the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Witnesses claim the police used water cannon during the freezing night.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
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Demonstrators opposed to an oil pipeline project in the US state of North Dakota have used slingshots to launch flaming projectiles and attempted to start several fires as they attacked a police barricade at the site, Morton County Sheriff's Department said on Monday.
Security authorities initially described the protest as an "ongoing riot." They said that some 400 protesters attempted to cross the Backwater Bridge, which has been blocked off since a similar outbreak of violence in late October.
The protesters tried to outflank police, hurling rocks and behaving in a "very aggressive" manner, according to officers at the scene.
Company shrugs off outrage
In turn, the activists accused the police of using water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. During the night, the temperature dropped well below freezing point.
"It's been just horrible," 83-year-old Rema Loeb told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that he had been forced to retreat from the bridge because he feared being doused with water. Others sought medical treatment after police deployed tear gas, he said.
Protesters said a gym in Cannon Ball was opened during the night to help demonstrators warm up and recover.
The controversial $3.7 billion (3.5 billion euro) pipeline is set to pass under Lake Oahe and skirt the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Its opponents fear that it would pollute the waters and disturb grounds sacred to Native Americans. The majority of work for the project has already been completed.
Last week, the CEO of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, Kelcy Warren, said the company was unwilling to reroute the pipeline despite the growing protests.
Native American tribe clashes with police in Dakota oil pipeline protests
In the latest clash in the US state of North Dakota, police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse protesters. The local Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been fighting the pipeline's construction since 2014.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
The pipeline advances
A vehicle passes by pipes intended for use in the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The conduit is meant to bring up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from fracking fields in North Dakota to Illinois, passing through territory that historically has belonged to Native Americans.
Image: Reuters/J. Morgan
Anger from the local Sioux
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has opposed the project since its proposal in 2014. Though the pipeline will not cross into Sioux territory, tribal leaders argue it will disturb historical burial grounds and could endanger the tribe's source of water, the Missouri River, under which the pipeline is supposed to pass. The company building the pipeline claims it has taken precautions against this.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Defiance
A man faces police across the Cantapeta Creek outside the Standing Rock Reservation near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where construction of the pipeline is underway.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Pipeline protests
Opponents of a new oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation gathered outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on November 2, 2016
Confrontation at Cantapeta Creek
A police officer uses pepper spray against protesters standing in Cantapeta Creek near the pipeline construction site. The resistance of the local tribe has gained international attention in recent weeks and the number of protesters has swelled. Even celebrities Mark Ruffalo and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson have joined in.
Image: Reuters/J. Patinkin
Relief for the eyes
A protester is treated with pepper spray antidote after a confrontation with the police. Tribal leaders allege that police have engaged in excessive force against protesters, leading the UN to investigate possible human rights abuses.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Consolation
After clashing with the police in Cantapeta Creek a young woman is consoled by a fellow protester.
Image: Reuters/J. Patinkin
Too late to make a change?
An elderly protester raises her arm during demonstrations against the pipeline. On November 1, US President Barack Obama said that the federal government is considering re-routing the pipeline in response to opposition.
