Saami battle Norwegian military

More than 100 owners and herders of reindeer in northern Norway have launched a legal battle against the military.

A military shooting range called Halkavarre is at the heart of the conflict because it sits on the Saami’s traditional reindeer grazing lands. Military officials said they intend to stay in the area and even want to expand their activities there, using it for bombing exercises.

“Now this is war,” said Geir Haugen, a lawyer representing the reindeer herders.

Haugen said in 1996 the military agreed to limit its use of the field until a new law on land rights was in place.

Haugen recently filed documents in a Hammerfest court calling for an immediate halt to the military’s target practice at Halkavarre.