Open Warfare Is About To Resume In Nigeria's Oil Region

Photo from Topnews

Niger Militants Scrap Cease-Fire, Vow Offensive
-- Christian Science Monitor

A conflict could reduce Nigeria's oil output, affecting global oil supply.

Militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta on Friday called off a four-month cease-fire with the government, in a move that could plunge this part of Nigeria back into chaos and further disrupt global oil supplies.

The Associated Press reported that militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) vowed to wage a new military campaign dubbed "Hurricane Obama" that would sharply curtail oil and gas shipments from the region.

The ... militants had declared a cessation of hostilities in September after the worst spate of violence in years to hit the Niger Delta, where militants fought rare open battles against the armed forces after years of nighttime sneak attacks and sabotage....

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My Comment: After a 4 month ceasefire .... nothing has been accomplished. Expect a resumption of hostilities and attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure. The consequences of this renewal in hostilities will be a crippling of Nigeria's oil industry for years, unemployment and suffering in the Nigerian delta, and a central government cut off from its main source of revenues.

Nigeria has a history of sectarian, tribal, and religious warfare. Weakening of the central government .... by cutting it's revenues from the oil industry .... will only embolden those who wish to resume open warfare to attain their objectives (of which there are many in this part of the world).

Nigeria is about to enter a very troubling period in its history.