Hundreds of residents of a village in northern Kyrgyzstan have blocked a highway to the capital, Bishkek, to demand an end to iron-ore mining in the area.
A local official, Omur Nogoev, told RFE/RL that the protesters say mining by the RedMet Company could damage the environment.
He put the number of protesters at 300, while activists said there were 800 people protesting near the village of Voznesenovka village in the Chui region.
Dozens of vehicles have reportedly been stranded on the highway by the protest.
RedMet officials were not available for comment.
Separately, dozens of residents of the northern city of Tokmok picketed a construction of a new oil refinery.
They say that the refinery's operations, scheduled to start in weeks, would harm the local environment.
