AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Climate activists blocked a major traffic artery in the Netherlands for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday to protest against government subsidies on fossil fuels.
Local police said activists marched onto the A12 highway leading into the centre of The Hague, seat of the Dutch government, around midday.
Hundreds of protesters blocked all incoming traffic to the city, the news agency ANP reported.
Authorities have warned protesters to stay off the road and police have in the past four days detained over 3,000 protesters who ignored orders to leave.
All the detained protesters have been released after being removed from the scene and, although water cannon have been used repeatedly, no injuries have been reported.
The environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion, which has organised the protests, has said it aims to block the road every day until the government stops using public funds to subsidise its oil and gas industry.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
