End is Not In Sight For Heavy Fighting in Nigeria

Whilst military chiefs seek to capture or kill top militant leaders and regain control of the region’s oil resources, heavy fighting in Nigeria’s Niger Delta could continue for weeks as the country’s newly appointed.

Fighting began less than a month after President Umaru Yar’Adua reshuffled his military leaders. Clashes between militants and security forces since Saturday are the heaviest in over two years.

“The commanders are new and are adopting new strategies to the delta. The old ones were accused of not being pro-active enough to the fighting,” said Anywakwee Nsirimovu, director of the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Private security sources and analysts believe the military began the fighting on Saturday, launching a major offensive against a militant camp loyal to the factional leader Farah Dagogo.

The faction has close links to the most prominent militant group, the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

“Farah is the main kingpin in MEND. He represents MEND in Rivers state,” a private security source said. “For the campaign to be successful, Farah probably has to be either killed or captured.”

The military says it has not launched an offensive operation and accuses militants of provoking the fighting.

Led by Farah’s gunmen, militants have declared an “oil war”.

Pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields have been bombed, halting up to 115,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last five days – nearly six percent of Nigeria’s estimated output in August. Security sources say dozens have died in the clashes.

“The fight is over control of oil resources and the right to tap those resources,” said Antony Goldman, an analyst at London-based risk consultancy PM consulting.

MEND is a loose coalition of militant groups who say they are fighting for greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta.

But many of these militants are from outside the Niger Delta with loyalties largely dependent on who controls the lucrative trade of stolen oil, more commonly known as oil bunkering.

“This fighting is over oil bunkering. Most of them are not from the Niger Delta, but are outsiders,” Nsirimovu said.

Farah and another militant leader, Soboma George, both with links to MEND, clashed several times in oil turf battles this summer killing more than 10 people.

The breakdown of law and order has made the line between a militant and common criminal difficult to distinguish. “There seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of oil bunkering and the amount of violence,” Goldman said.

Author: Jo Amey