Nigerian troops killed eight suspected militants near an Italian-operated oil field in the Niger delta, authorities said on Wednesday.
The killings in Bayelsa state on Tuesday came days after militant groups released 19 hostages as part of a nascent peace initiative between the government and the rebel groups.
“They attacked our troops guarding an Agip flow station at Ogbainbiri and in the encounter they sustained casualties, about eight men,” said a spokesman for the military in the region, Omale Ochagwuba.
Oil output from the Ogbainbiri field, which feeds the Brass export terminal also in Bayelsa state, was unaffected, a spokesman for the unit of Italian oil company ENI said.
Newly inaugurated Nigerian president, Umaru Yar’Adua, has begun preliminary contacts with militants in the delta in the hope of ending a wave of kidnappings and attacks on oil fields that have cut production by a quarter.
Militant groups say they are fighting for more autonomy in the impoverished region, compensation for oil spills and the release of two leaders from the region.
One of those leaders, former militia boss Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, returns to court on Thursday to face treason charges.
Activists involved in the contacts with government believe Asari will be freed on bail on Thursday, opening the way to more substantive talks with the government.