Water protectors protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline are bracing for a stand-off with police as the Thursday 9 am (NZ time) deadline to leave Standing Rock arrives.
According to Reuters, the deadline for protestors to clear the campsite at Standing Rock was set by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
It follows a January order by President Trump clearing the way for the pipeline to be completed.
Republican Governor Burgum has said flooding is posing a safety threat at the camp and rubbish from the site could pollute the nearby Missouri River.
Reuters are reporting that around 300 protesters remain at the campsite and quote a camp leader Melaine Stoneman as saying, “The fight continues on as it has for over 500 some years of them trying to exterminate and eliminate us."