Police begin removing protesters from Dakota pipeline encampment

(Reuters) - Police in North Dakota began clearing a group of Native American and environmental protesters from an encampment near an oil pipeline construction site on Thursday in a move that could escalate tensions in a standoff that has lasted several months. The police moved in on the protesters camped on private property near the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline about 11:15 a.m., according to a statement from the Morton County Sheriff's Department. Police were also removing roadblocks set up by the demonstrators, but Donnell Preskey, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, said protesters had lit some blockades on fire.

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