Reports Of A Truce In Nigeria's Delta Region have Been Denied by Militants

Reuters: Nigerian militants say no plan for Delta ceasefire

* Officials say truce agreed last week, Avengers say no deal
* Militants seek greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth
* Attacks pushed Nigerian oil production to 30-year low (Adds Avengers saying no ceasefire deal, quotes)

YENAGOA, Nigeria, June 21 The Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil and gas facilities in Nigeria's southern energy hub, said on Tuesday it never agreed a ceasefire with the government.

Government officials told Reuters a one-month ceasefire had been agreed last week after talks between the oil minister, community groups and state governors in the Niger Delta, the source of most of Nigeria's crude oil.

Militants say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth to go to the impoverished Delta region. Crude sales make up about 70 percent of national income and the vast majority of that oil comes from the southern swampland.

A petroleum ministry official said the Avengers, who have claimed responsibility for most attacks in the last few weeks that have pushed Nigeria's crude output to 30-year lows, were among those who agreed to a truce.

Read more ....

More News On Ceasefire Attempts In the Nigerian Delta Conflict

We never agreed to cease fire with gov't- N/Avengers -- Daily Trust
Nigerian militants say no plan for Delta ceasefire -- Street Insider
Nigeria’s Claims of 30-Day Truce With Militants Remain Unclear -- WSJ
'New' oil rebels spring from old in Nigeria's delta south -- AFP

Stunning Images Capture Raw Brutality Of Life In Niger Delta

So Rich In Oil, Yet So Poor They Slaughter Domestic Goats For Food And Dry Their Clothes On Gas Pipeline That Carries Fuel Worth Billions: Stunning Images Capture Raw Brutality Of Life In Niger Delta -- Daily Mail

Despite billions of dollars worth of oil flowing out of Nigeria south east, as these stunning pictures show life for the majority of Niger Delta's inhabitants remains unchanged.

Most people live in modest iron-roofed shacks, and rely on farming or fishing, their only interaction with the oil industry being when they step over pipelines in the swamps - or when a spill blights their landscape.

The world's third largest wetland, the Niger Delta is diverse and rich with mangroves and fish-rich waterways. But oil drilling has also turned it into one of the most oil-polluted places on Earth.

Some two million barrels (320,000 m3) a day are now extracted in the Niger Delta but local indigenous people have seen little if any improvement in their standard of living while suffering serious damage to their natural environment.

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WNU Editor: Another photo gallery on Nigeria's illegal oil refineries is here. Not surprisingly .... concerns that militant groups like MEND and piracy are now being voiced.

Nigerian Army Seeks To Rid Oil Delta Of Militants

Fighters with the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) prepare for an operation against the Nigerian army in Niger Delta, 2008. Nigeria's military vowed to press on with its offensive against Niger Delta rebels who last week renewed their violent attacks on the country's multi-billion-dollar oil and gas industry. (AFP/File/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

From Reuters:

PORT HARCOURT, May 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Nigerian soldiers searched the creeks of the Niger Delta on Tuesday to flush out militants who fled helicopter and gunboat raids on their camps, the country's largest military offensive for years.

Three battalions of ground troops searched riverine communities around Chanomi Creek in the western delta thought to harbour rebels after two of their camps were destroyed at the weekend, military spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar said.

Some foreign oil firms have evacuated non-essential personnel from the western delta around the town of Warri for fear that militant fighters will launch retaliatory attacks on Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, security sources say.

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More News On The Conflict In Nigeria's Delta Region

Nigeria vow further offensive against rebels -- Yahoo News/AFP
Military onslaught continues, more people killed -- The Punch
The military action in Nigeria Delta -- The Punch
Nigerian troops take another "militants camp" in Delta State -- China View

The Niger Delta: The Curse Of The Black Gold

Militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) patrol the creeks of Bonny river near the LNG plant in the oil rich Niger delta region of Southern Nigeria

From The Independent:

Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil producers. But the scramble for riches has brought ruin to the region and its people. Report by Steve Bloomfield

This should be paradise. A land of plenty. The finest schools and hospitals, gleaming infrastructure that shames the West, a place where wealth literally oozes out of the marshy undergrowth.

This was the dream, anyhow. To say it has turned into a nightmare doesn't do justice to the horror that the Niger Delta has become; it doesn't even begin to describe just how disastrous the discovery of oil more than 50 years ago has been for the people who live here.

A sweaty, heaving melting pot of 30 million people from 40-odd ethnic groups speaking more than 200 different languages, the Niger Delta lies on the southern banks of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

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My Comment: 30 million people broken into 40 odd ethnic groups, speaking 200 different dialects and languages .... and they all are hostile to each other. Talk about ethnic tension.

Oil is not the cause for their misery .... it is the people in the Delta region who cannot get their act together that is the cause of their misery. If it was not for their oil and deposits and pressure from international forces to keep the peace .... this part of Nigeria would have fallen into the typical African "fail state" status a long time ago.

Unfortunately for Nigeria, their culture is too corrupt and their political class is even worse.

Brown Blunders In Pledge to Secure Nigeria Oil

Militant groups in the Niger Delta have targeted multinational oil firms

From The Independent:

PM's offer of military aid to Nigeria provokes collapse of ceasefire amid angry claims that UK has 'declared war' on rebel army

Gordon Brown is being accused of preparing for a military adventure in Africa after he pledged to provide backing to the Nigerian security forces. His announcement prompted the collapse of a ceasefire in the oil-rich Niger Delta and helped to drive up crude oil prices on world markets.

The Prime Minister's offer to help "tackle lawlessness" in the world's eighth largest oil producer was immediately condemned by the main militant group in the Delta, which abandoned a two-week-old ceasefire and accused Britain of backing what it calls Nigeria's "illegal government". The group issued a "stern warning" to Mr Brown in an emailed statement: "Should Gordon Brown make good his threat to support this criminality for the sake of oil, UK citizens and interests in Nigeria will suffer the consequences."

Read more ....

More News On Nigeria

Nigerian group 'to end ceasefire' -- BBC News
Brown promises to aid Nigerian government -- UPI
Britain to train army in Nigeria to combat delta rebels -- Independent
Britain considers options on Niger Delta -- The Punch
British government confirms talks with Nigeria on oil supplies -- Monsters And Critics
Vandalism rampant Niger delta region of Nigeria -- China View
Nigeria navy arrests Filipinos on ship of stolen oil -- Reuters South Africa

My Comment: Expect the price of oil to shoot over $150 this week. If Nigeria's oil output is compromised, this will be disastrous for everyone. For the rebels in Nigeria, their altitude is that they have nothing to lose .... and they are right