cormacobear
17th February 2006, 14:45
Nigeria oil 'total war' warning
A Nigerian militant commander in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta has told the BBC his group is declaring "total war" on all foreign oil interests.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has given oil companies and their employees until midnight on Friday night to leave the region.
It recently blew up two oil pipelines, held four foreign oil workers hostage and sabotaged two major oilfields.
The group wants greater control of the oil wealth produced on their land.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports, but despite its oil wealth, many Nigerians live in abject poverty.
Aims
It is the first time the military leader of the Mend movement, Major-General Godswill Tamuno, has spoken publicly of his group's aims.
He refused to be interviewed on tape or for his location to be disclosed.
He told the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar that they had launched their campaign, called "dark February", to ensure that all foreign oil interests left.
He said that they had had enough of the exploitation of their resources and wanted to take total control of the area to get their fair share of the wealth.
Our correspondent says the movement brings together a variety of local groups that had been operating in the Niger Delta before.
Their diversity means the group enjoys considerable local support and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly who is a member, he says.
Mend's leaders tend to like to be faceless, our reporter says, and they usually send statements to the media via email.
Rest of Article/ source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4723076.stm
A Nigerian militant commander in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta has told the BBC his group is declaring "total war" on all foreign oil interests.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has given oil companies and their employees until midnight on Friday night to leave the region.
It recently blew up two oil pipelines, held four foreign oil workers hostage and sabotaged two major oilfields.
The group wants greater control of the oil wealth produced on their land.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports, but despite its oil wealth, many Nigerians live in abject poverty.
Aims
It is the first time the military leader of the Mend movement, Major-General Godswill Tamuno, has spoken publicly of his group's aims.
He refused to be interviewed on tape or for his location to be disclosed.
He told the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar that they had launched their campaign, called "dark February", to ensure that all foreign oil interests left.
He said that they had had enough of the exploitation of their resources and wanted to take total control of the area to get their fair share of the wealth.
Our correspondent says the movement brings together a variety of local groups that had been operating in the Niger Delta before.
Their diversity means the group enjoys considerable local support and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly who is a member, he says.
Mend's leaders tend to like to be faceless, our reporter says, and they usually send statements to the media via email.
Rest of Article/ source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4723076.stm