Police move to end Dutch farmer protests

BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM -- Dutch police moved on Monday to end demonstrations by farmers who disrupted traffic throughout the Netherlands by blocking exit roads of highways and setting fires along those roads. Images on social media showed burning piles of hay and tires at various places around the Netherlands. "Fires were lit, fireworks were set off and tractors are riding on the highway," the police force of the central province of Gelderland said in a statement on X. Earlier on Monday, Belgian and Dutch farmers used dozens of tractors to block the Dutch-Belgian motorway border crossing between Maastricht and Liege, following similar actions on Friday at various border crossings. Several other countries in Europe have seen similar protests by farmers in recent weeks.