No fewer than 1,500 people reported to be activists have been apprehended during a demonstration by the Extinction Rebellion climate group in The Hague, Dutch police have confirmed.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the said activists actually blocked a section of a motorway in the centre of the city on Saturday, in protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies.
Police said they had used water cannon to disperse activists blocking a major road in the city and arrested “a total of 1,579 people … 40 of whom will be prosecuted” on charges including vandalism.
One of the activists bit a policeman during his arrest, police said.
Several Dutch celebrities were among the protesters, including Carice van Houten, best known for her role as Melisandre in the hit TV series, Game of Thrones.
The Dutch news agency ANP reported that she was arrested but later allowed to return home.
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It did not specify if she was among those who would be prosecuted.
The protests marked the seventh organised by Extinction Rebellion in this area of The Hague, but the highest number of people arrested so far, according to ANP.
Africa Today News, New York reports that in recent years, the environmental campaign group has garnered media attention through disruption, hitting roads, airports and other public transport networks with direct action protests against climate change.
Last month, it began four days of action in London, promising less disruption and more inclusion than the mass blockades that have become its trademark.
In another report, Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria has been tagged as ‘extremely high risk’ of the impacts of climate change, ranking second out of 163 countries without
This was made known by UNICEF’s representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, in a statement issued and signed by Geoffrey Njoku of the fund’s communication unit.