Cops in North Dakota have used water cannon against demonstrators protesting against an oil pipeline. Morton County Sheriff’s Department said protesters, who had assembled on a closed bridge near the Standing Rock reservation, had started fires.
Sioux tribes and allies have already been protesting for weeks amid concerns the pipeline will pollute water supplies.
Demonstrators said rubber bullets were also fired, but those reports were not confirmed by police. One man was arrested.
This latest battle involved an estimated 400 demonstrators at Backwater Bridge, which continues to be jailed by local authorities since October. Activists at the scene reported that authorities had used water jets in sub-freezing temperatures, and fired rubber bullets, which injured some in the crowd.
