OTTAWA: Police in the Canadian province of Alberta on Monday broke up a group that was supposedly prepared to use violence to back a truckers’ blockade at a border crossing with the United States, authorities said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had arrested 11 people and seized 13 long guns as well as handguns and a large quantity of ammunition. Those arrested were reported to have “a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade”, the force said in a statement.
How did the protest start?
The “Freedom Convoy” driving across Canada toward Ottawa in late January ostensibly opposed vaccinate-or-quarantine mandates for cross-border truckers. But most truckers do not support the convoy.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, an industry group, said it opposes protests on public roadways and the vast majority of Canadian truckers are vaccinated.
The protests have broadened to oppose a range of provincial and federal COVID-19 measures.
