By Xinhua,
Lagos (Nigeria) : Rebels in the Niger oil delta early Monday claimed to have attacked an oil flow station complex, killing an unspecified number of people working at the station.
The statement, signed by the spokesman of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said their fighters set fire to the Alakiri flow station complex owned by the Shell Petroleum Company, and killed some workers and soldiers but did not specify the number of the casualties.
There was no immediate reaction from the government.
The statement by MEND, the most prominent rebel group in the oil-rich Niger Delta which declared an “oil war” against Nigerian military forces, asked oil workers in the Delta region to stop production and leave their facilities or face consequences.
It also ordered international vessels not to come in to load crude oil from Nigeria ports in the south.
Spokesman for the military in Rivers state, Sagir Musa was quoted by media as saying that “militants in about 10 speedboats attacked a Shell location at Alakiri”.
The Nigerian government set up a new ministry called Ministry of Niger Delta Wednesday to facilitate peace and development of the restive region.
Since 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, demanding more local control of natural resources, especially oil.
As a result of the activities of the militants who have kidnapped more than 200 foreigners and attacked oil pipelines, wells and terminals in the delta, the country’s oil production, which is the most important source of its revenue, has seen a 25 percent drop. Nigeria’s peak oil output is 2.6 million barrel a day.