Nigeria mounts raid on Delta rebels

WARRI, Nigeria – Several civilians have been killed and scores displaced during raids by the Nigerian military against armed …

WARRI, Nigeria – Several civilians have been killed and scores displaced during raids by the Nigerian military against armed gangs in the creeks of the oil-producing Niger Delta, local residents said yesterday.

A military taskforce comprising the army, navy and air force began raiding three camps which are believed to belong to a notorious gang leader in Delta state on Thursday, close to the Ayakoroma and Okrika communities.

The military had warned weeks ago that it would launch strikes against suspected militant gangs in the Niger Delta, where they have in recent years severely disrupted Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry, and urged civilians living in the vicinity of their camps to leave.

“My husband is dead, also my two brothers are dead. There is nowhere to go now,” said Aunty Polobiri, one of scores of women sheltering in a warehouse outside the city of Warri who said they had fled the fighting around Ayakoroma.

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The camps lie deep in the creeks and it was not immediately possible to confirm independently whether civilians had been killed. The security forces have a tense relationship with some local communities and in the past there have been claims of high death tolls which could not subsequently be verified.

Preye Onduku, a member of the Ayakoroma community development committee, said at least five people had been killed and about 100 had fled in dug-out canoes.

The Red Cross said it had received reports of casualties but was not immediately able to reach the scene of the fighting because of its remoteness. “We’ve seen about 30 evacuated made up of mainly women, children and newborn babies in the barracks. Six are receiving treatment in the military hospital. (Their) immediate needs are food and water,” a Red Cross official said.

The military has said it wants to flush out gang leader John Togo from Delta state, who security sources say is responsible for violent armed robberies, ambushes and attacks.

“These are professional soldiers who are conversant with the rules of engagement. No such thing happened and cannot be allowed during my tenure in office. We are not in a war situation,” join task force commander Charles Omorege said.

** Meanwhile attackers shot and stabbed to death seven people in a village in central Nigeria yesterday, in an apparent reprisal for the killing of a Muslim herder. The attack on the Christian village of Nwachukwu, close to the city of Jos, took place in the early hours of the morning, Gen Hassan Umaru said. – (Reuters)