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Rebels Declare All-Out War

P.M. News (Lagos)
NEWS
September 28, 2004
Posted to the web September 28, 2004

Ask Foreign Oil Workers to Leave Niger Delta
Oil Prices Hit $50 Per Barrel
Rebels in the oil-producing Niger Delta have warned oil companies in the area
to shut production before they (rebels) begin an "all-out war" on October 1.
The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, in a communique issued late
yesterday, after a meeting of its central command, also advised all foreigners
to leave the Niger Delta, according to the group's leader, Dokubo Asari.
The delta pumps all of Nigeria's 2.3 million barrels per day output.
The communique accused Royal Dutch Shell Group, Nigeria's largest oil producer,
and Italy's Agip, a unit of ENI, of "collaborating with the Nigerian state in
acts of genocide against our people." Asari told Reuters after the meeting his
group would not attack oil pipelines because it did not want to pollute the
delta environment, but foreign oil workers would be targeted from Oct. 1.
"Operation Locust Feast will commence on Oct. 1 marking the 44 years of dubious
independence of the Nigerian state," Asari quoted the communique from the group
as saying.
The offensive is aimed at escalating the conflict, currently focused around the
regional capital Port Harcourt, to the whole delta region, Asari said.
It will be sustained until the government agrees to negotiate self-
determination for the Ijaw people, who form a majority in the delta, he added.
The meeting nominated the Ijaw National Congress, as the mediator for any talks
with government.
Though Ijaw militant groups are active in other parts of the delta,
particularly around Warri, it remains to be seen if Asari can muster a strong
following outside his native clan.
Asari said the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force would take no
responsibility for any harm to foreign nationals.
"All foreign embassies should withdraw their citizens from the Niger Delta
until the resolution of the fundamental issues," he warned. "That means they
have to close their facilities." Nigerian oil is produced by five multinational
oil companies, comprising Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron Texaco and Agip.
The country is the fifth largest supplier to the United States.
"Anyone who assists the Nigerian state to make money in Ijawland (the delta)
will be seen as a collaborator and an enemy and will be targeted," Asari said.
Amnesty International said the conflict killed 500 people in three weeks to
mid-September, while government figures are far below that. The deaths have
been mostly from sporadic gun battles between the rebels, who travel in
speedboats, and a new deployment of troops sent to crack down on them.
The army said it used helicopter gunships to attack a rebel base in mid-
September. Asari has accused the troops of using chemical weapons in that
attack, which the army denied.
In New York, crude oil futures jumped 36 cents in electronic trading to (a
record) $50 a barrel level, the highest in the 21 years oil futures have traded
on the exchange, due to concerns about the Nigerian situation.

   

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