[EN DIRECT] Dismantling of the siege in Ottawa: the tension at its height, at least 100 arrests

OTTAWA – After hours of confrontation with officers tightening the noose around the critical area, Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell reported more than 100 arrests and at least 21 vehicles towed by mid-afternoon Friday.

The police have gained a few hundred meters since the start of the operation on Friday morning, but the rate of progress has significantly decreased during the afternoon.

However, the tension rose shortly after 5 p.m., so the police gave a push with the help of the cavalry to snatch a few tens of meters from the protesters. They started using cayenne pepper to disperse the crowd.

Consult all our articles on the police operation in Ottawa

Protesters are trying every means to prevent the police from advancing, sometimes begging them to join their ranks, other times shouting in their heads that they should be “ashamed” of being on the “wrong side of the world”. ‘story”. Some form human chains and even sing “O Canada”.

More reckless protesters physically attacked police officers and tried to take their weapons away.

With personnel from all over the country, including the Sûreté du Québec, the police forces are losing ground hour by hour to the demonstrators who are still clinging to their movement, which is today in its 22nd day. .

They don’t stand a chance against the forces deployed, which include armored vehicles, mounted and dismounted RCMP officers and heavily armed officers from the Ontario Police Tactical Unit.

“We hold the line!” they shout while waving flags to motivate each other. “You have to leave. You are going to be arrested”, respond from the loudspeakers of the police.

The remaining truckers have locked themselves in their trucks, even though the police no longer hesitate to pick them up directly.

Others seemed to have understood the order transmitted to them since Wellington Street was fairly emptied of several vehicles. A number of truckers drove off to try to avoid criminal charges and license revocation.

The slowness of the operation is explained in particular by the desire of the police to “have the least possible use of force”, as explained by Steve Bell during his press conference at 3:45 p.m.

“These are not images that the people of Ottawa want to see,” he added, assuring that the operation would go ahead without any interruption and until the city is “returned”. to its inhabitants.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland echoed this earlier in the afternoon, even speaking of a day of “deep sadness, but also determination”.

“It’s not a day where we derive any satisfaction whatsoever,” she said during a press conference with several other federal ministers.

After Tamara Lich and Chris Barber on Thursday night, another convoy organizer, Pat King, had his wrists handcuffed as he posted a Facebook Live video on Friday.

Mr. Bell said he will not provide any figures on the numbers deployed or the number of protesters for operational reasons.

The Emergency Measures Act invoked by the federal government on Monday obliges towing companies to support police operations, whether they like it or not.

• Listen to journalist Antoine Lacroix’s summary, live from the Ottawa police operation, on QUB radio

Several companies refused to intervene for fear of reprisals. On Friday, our team on the ground was able to capture the first images of hooded tugs operating under strong police escort.