2006年VOA标准英语-Militants in Nigeria's Oil Region Claim Ne

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By Joe Bavier
Abidjan
20 February 2006
 

Oil instalation belonging to Shell Petroleum¹ Development Company in Odidi Niger Delta²  
  
Militants⁴ in Nigeria's volatile⁵, but oil-rich, Niger Delta say they have struck again, just days after abducting⁶ a group of foreign oil workers. The recent wave of kidnappings and sabotage⁷ has cut oil exports from sub-Saharan Africa's largest producer by one-fifth.

A statement by the militant³ group, the Movement for the Emancipation⁸ of the Niger Delta, claims its fighters blew up a Nigerian navy vessel⁹ and attacked an oil facility in the oil-rich southeast.

Nigerian military officials and representatives of Royal Dutch Shell, the company that operates the sabotaged¹⁰ pipeline¹¹, were not available to comment on the alleged¹² attacks. The new claims of violence come three days after nine oil workers employed by the U.S.-based oil services firm Willbros were kidnapped by militants claiming to belong to the group.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, known as MEND, has warned that such action will continue. It is demanding the release of two prominent Ijaw ethnic¹³ leaders. Both are being held in federal custody¹⁴. The militants held four foreign oil workers for several weeks last month before releasing them.

Nigerian oil analyst¹⁵ Tunde Martins says MEND differs from many other Niger Delta militant groups, which often warn of impending¹⁶ violence, but seldom follow through.

"The fact that they were able to make real their threats shows that it is a serious group of hostage takers," he said.

Martins says the decision by the federal government to create a special military task force to combat the militants has yielded few results and could even aggravate¹⁷ the situation.

"I think the government has to go back to its drawing board, because if the Nigerian government were to react militarily to the threat of these hostage takers, it would have resulted into a lot of bloodshed," he added.

The last hostages were released unharmed, apparently¹⁸ in exchange for cash. This latest round of violence has caused oil production in Nigeria, one of the worlds top-10 petroleum producing nations, to drop by 20 percent. Prices on the world market have also risen by around $1.5 per barrel.

The Niger Delta has long been a flash point of violent unrest and ethnic clashes. Armed groups demand a greater share of the oil wealth pumped from the delta region. They also seek reparations from foreign oil companies for widespread environmental destruction.