By DPA,
Nairobi/Abuja : Nigerian militants who have declared an “oil war” Monday said they attacked and destroyed an oil flow station complex owned by Shell in the restive Niger Delta province.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said Sunday it had begun operation “Hurricane Barbarossa” after Nigerian military forces attacked militant positions with gunboats and helicopters.
The group claimed to have killed 22 soldiers in an assault on a Chevron platform Sunday and Monday said it had completely destroyed the Shell flow station, killing workers in the process.
“Heavily armed fighters…stormed the facility and have razed it to the ground as promised,” MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said.
“The foolhardy workers and soldiers who did not heed our warning perished inside the station,” he continued.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa confirmed an attack on a flow station had taken place, but said that no casualties were suffered.
“The battle lasted for one hour,” Musa said. “The militants used dynamites and bombs, but the attack was successfully repelled. It is greatly feared that the flow station caught fire as a result of the crossfire.”
A spokesperson for Shell Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, said that the company had started to evacuate its personnel from the area.
Militant groups such as MEND often attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor of the region.
The government says they are merely criminal gangs intent on stealing oil and extorting money.
The unrest has cut oil production by around a fifth since early 2006, helping to push up global oil prices and allowing Angola to surpass Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil exporter.
Residents near the fighting told DPA that the military had started to bring in heavy artillery and a Navy source said that warships were being deployed.
MEND said the latest operation would continue until the Nigerian government learned that “the solution to peace in the Niger Delta is justice, respect and dialogue.”
The group also repeated previous warnings for oil companies to evacuate their staff and said that oil tankers should not attempt to dock.
President Umaru Yar’Adua Wednesday announced the creation of a ministry to develop the region, which despite the oil money remains mired in poverty.
However, the previous body aimed at developing the region was hit by a corruption scandal and MEND has rejected the new ministry.