Story highlights Army Corps of Engineers gives protesters December 5 deadline to move

Tribal leader: "Our resolve to protect our water is stronger than ever"

(CNN) A new confrontation is brewing over the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Protesters fighting pipeline construction must vacate property near the Cannonball River in North Dakota -- the location of a large campsite for demonstrators -- by December 5 or face arrest, the Army Corps of Engineers said Friday.

"This decision is necessary to protect the general public from the violent confrontation between protestors and law enforcement officials that have occurred in this area, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury to inhabitants of encampments due to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions," Col. John Henderson of the Corps said in a letter to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe leader.

On Sunday, the Corps issued a new statement saying it wants a "peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location, and has no plans for forcible removal."

But, those who choose to stay "do so at their own risk as emergency, fire, medical, and law enforcement response cannot be adequately provided in these areas," the statement added. "Those who remain will be considered unauthorized and may be subject to citation under federal, state or local laws."

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