REXTON, N.B. —Dozens of people were arrested Thursday after Molotov cocktails were thrown at police vehicles and RCMP officers when they began enforcing an injunction to end an ongoing demonstration against shale gas exploration in eastern New Brunswick.

Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said at least five RCMP vehicles were destroyed after they were set ablaze and at least one shot was fired by someone other than a police officer at the site of the protest in Rexton.

“The RCMP has worked diligently with all parties involved in hopes for a peaceful resolution. Those efforts have not been successful,” Rogers-Marsh said. “Tensions were rising and serious criminal acts were and are being committed.”

PHOTO GALLERY: FIERY PROTEST

The Mounties said at least 40 people were arrested for firearms offences, threats, intimidation, mischief and violating the court-ordered injunction.

The RCMP began enforcing the injunction at around 7:30 a.m. to end the blockade of a compound where energy company SWN Resources stores exploration equipment. A highway at Rexton and another between Richibucto and Sainte-Anne-de-Kent were closed to traffic and schools in the area were closed early for the day after they were locked down as a precaution.

Rogers-Marsh said police decided to enforce the court-ordered injunction because threats had been made against private security guards at the site the night before. She wouldn’t reveal what tactics police were using to contain the crowd and refused to comment on reports that officers had fired rubber bullets.

Robert Levi, a councillor with the Elsipogtog First Nation, said he went to the protest site early Thursday after hearing the RCMP had moved in to begin enforcing the injunction.

Levi said police pepper-sprayed dozens of people after 9:30 a.m. when he arrived with the chief and council.

“They sprayed the crowd that was there,” he said. “The chief was manhandled a little bit and all hell broke loose.”

The RCMP blocked Route 134 on Sept. 29 after a protest began spilling onto the road. Protesters subsequently cut down trees that were placed across another part of the road, blocking the entrance to the compound.

The protesters, who include members of the Elsipogtog First Nation, want SWN Resources to stop seismic testing and leave the province.

Premier David Alward called for a peaceful resolution to the protest, saying the violence that erupted Thursday was “very troubling.”

“In no way can we as a country of laws condone the breaking of laws and violence,” Alward said in Moncton, N.B. “I fully support the work that the RCMP do to ensure that the laws of New Brunswick are protected.”

The government’s position that a shale gas industry can be developed in the province as long as it is done sustainably and safely has not wavered as a result of the protest, Alward added.

Last week, Alward and Chief Arren Sock agreed to set up a working group to find a resolution after meetings were held in Fredericton and Moncton. At the time, Sock said there were still many details to be worked out.

Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said he was monitoring the situation and called for calm on all sides.

“We strongly remind the RCMP that . . . their role is not to take sides in disputes but to maintain peace,” he said in a statement. “The safety and security of our citizens and all parties is our foremost concern at this time.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: