Washington, Mar 8 (IANS): The Pentagon announced that it has agreed to extend National Guard support in Washington, D.C. for two additional days as a convoy of truckers and other drivers returned to the Capital Beltway.

National Guard members will continue to provide support at traffic control points in the city, including around the Capitol area, and they will be deployed through Wednesday, Xinhua news agency quoted Pentagon press secretary John Kirby as saying in a statement.

Last month, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin approved l700 unarmed National Guard troops to be deployed in Washington, D.C. from February 26 through March 7 to help with traffic.

The convoy returned ton Monday after running two loops around the interstate highway in the Washington metropolitan area a day earlier to protest against Covid-19 restrictions.

Organisers of the convoy said they won't go into the US capital's prosper.

Police in the Washington metropolitan area had urged motorists to expect delays over the past weekend due to activities of the convoy that has drawn both support and sharp criticism.

It remains unclear how many more days their demonstration, a spinoff from protests in Canada staged by truckers upset with vaccine requirements, will last.