| Reuters) – Two Nigerian soldiers were wounded on Friday after militants attempted to hijack their gunboat in the strategic waters of the oil-rich Niger Delta, security and industry sources said. Gunmen with apparent links to the main militant group MEND attacked security forces escorting a private company’s boat to Bonny Island, the export point for about 400,000 barrels per day of oil and 18 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas. It was not clear which private firm was involved in the ambush. “Our troops were on a legal escort of a company boat when we came under attack at the Yellow platform in Bonny. Our men responded and sank two of the boats belonging to the attackers,” said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force responsible for security in southern Rivers state. Security and industry sources said two Nigerian soldiers were wounded but could not confirm if anyone was killed in the gun battle, though they said gunmen were on the two boats when they sank. Security sources suspected the fighters were from Okoloma Ikpangi, the most active group on Bonny Island that has claimed allegiance to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). One of the Okoloma Ikpangi commanders told Reuters two weeks ago it would begin attacking oil and gas facilities on the island unless the army pulled out and its demands for development were taken seriously. |
Aug92008