Line 3: protests over pipeline through tribal lands spark clashes and mass arrests

Police arrested more than 100 people this week as activists try to block the expansion of the pipeline

Environmental protesters and Native American tribes have joined together to try to block construction efforts that would expand and repair a controversial pipeline called Line 3, which would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil through tribal lands and fragile watersheds in northern Minnesota.

The protesters said they were there as water and land protectors, fighting Enbridge, a Canadian-owned company, and the $9bn upgrade of the pipeline. The action sparked a confrontation with law enforcement officers and raised the prospects of a high-profile fight set to highlight the use of fossil fuels at a time of growing climate crisis.