Nigerian rebels vow to hit oilfields again

LAGOS, Nigeria, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Nigerian insurgents vowed Thursday to renew their five-year war against Africa's largest oil industry when a unilateral cease-fire expires, even though some of their leaders have surrendered under a government amnesty in recent weeks.

Their defiance raised the prospect of a major military offensive against them in their swampy stronghold in the Niger Delta of southern Nigeria.

That bodes ill for one of the United States' key oil suppliers. Nigeria has already seen its oil production slashed by one third in the last couple of years because of the incessant rebel attacks -- from 2.6 million barrels a day to 1.7 million.

The Nigerian central bank says the violence has cost the country $1 billion a month in lost oil revenue, and helped push global oil prices higher. Nigeria's oil exports account for 90 percent of the West African country's foreign exchange earnings.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, is a loose alliance of several groups which has led the insurgency aimed at Western oil companies such as Chevron of the United States, Total of France and the Anglo-Dutch Shell.

The rebels demand a more equitable share of Nigeria's oil revenue for the impoverished and long neglected Ijaw tribes of the delta, the main oil-producing region.

But their campaign has also degenerated into a massive crime spree, in which vast amounts of crude have been stolen and smuggled abroad in tankers.

MEND declared a 90-day truce on July 15. That was extended for another 30 days Sept. 15. It expires at midnight Thursday.

"MEND considers this next phase of our struggle as the most critical as we intend to end 50 years of slavery of the people of the Niger Delta by the Nigeria government, a few individuals and the Western oil companies once and for all," the movement said in an e-mail communique.

On Thursday, MEND spokesman Jomo Gborno said the movement planned to intensify its campaign after negotiations with President Umaru Yar'Ardua failed to make any progress.

"In this next phase, we will burn down all attacked installations and no longer limit our attacks to the destruction of pipelines," the communique added.

The government, meanwhile, trumpeted what it claimed was a "major breakthrough" with the amnesty, during which several MEND leaders gave themselves up with hundreds of their men and surrendered their weapons.

They included one of the most prominent commanders in the western delta, Government Ekpemupolo, known by his nom de guerre of Tompolo. He surrendered on Oct. 4 just before the amnesty expired.

Farah Dogogo, a key leader in the eastern sector, surrendered a few days earlier. His forces had been particularly successful in destroying oil installations.

Military sources in Abuja, Nigeria's administrative capital, said MEND had been considerably weakened by these defections. But the movement claims new leaders have been named to replace those who gave themselves up.

The Abuja government has launched several offensives against the rebels, but has never succeeded in crushing them. Hundreds of civilians have perished in these campaigns, resulting in a steady flow of recruits for the rebels.

However, in recent months Yar'Ardua has been building up his forces and buying weapons, including fast-attack craft to pursue the rebels in the creeks, rivers and swamps of the delta.