Nigeria's oil war truce 'in danger'

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Nov. 18 (UPI) — A cease-fire in Nigeria’s oil war appeared to be under threat Wednesday after army soldiers destroyed the home of one of their commanders. But to some observers, the episode was part of a bizarre pre-election ritual.

There was no word of any immediate retaliation by the rebels of the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. It declared an indefinite cease-fire Oct. 25 after a government amnesty in which thousands of fighters surrendered their weapons.

But MEND warned after Tuesday’s raid on the home of Christian Don Pedro in southern Rivers state it “will not tolerate the continued harassment of communities by the Nigerian military and will take appropriate actions the next time any community in the Niger Delta is attacked.”

Despite the efforts of the government headed by President Umaru Yar’Adua to bring an end to the four-year insurgency in the delta, the country’s main oil producing zone, analysts believe that a lasting peace remains uncertain at best.

United Press International