Activists say police have forcefully dispersed protesters who were blocking a road to a controversial garbage dump near the town of Volokolamsk, and briefly detained at least 10 of them.
Several hundred people locked arms and stood on a road to prevent trucks from reaching the Yadrovo landfill on the outskirts of Volokolamsk, about 120 kilometers west of Moscow, on April 15.
Volokolamsk residents have been demonstrating since January against the dump, which they say emits toxic fumes. The protests intensified after dozens of children were hospitalized with symptoms of gas poisoning on March 21.
Video footage from the April 15 protest showed police grabbing several men and women and pushing them forcefully away from a fenced-in area.
The attempt to block the road came a day after some 1,000 residents rallied in Volokolamsk, urging the authorities to close the Yadrovo dump.
Similar protests against landfills took place in eight other towns around Moscow on April 14.
The largest rally in Volokolamsk was on April 1, when several thousand people demanded the dump's closure.
The Yadrovo landfill was opened in 2008 and is a dumping site for garbage from Moscow and nearby regions.
