Gunmen battle Nigeria troops in oil-rich south, leaving three soldiers dead

YENAGOA, Nigeria: Gunmen battled troops near a petroleum-pumping station in Nigeria’s lawless southern oil region, leaving three soldiers and an unknown number of assailants dead, authorities said Sunday.

Oil production was not affected during the incident, said Royal Dutch Shell PLC, near whose oil-pipeline intersection point the fighting took place.


Three troops died during the overnight firefight in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern swamps, but the number of casualties among the attackers wasn’t known, said Lt. Col. Christopher Musa, of the military force patrolling the region. No major militant group claimed the attack.

Gunmen often launch attacks in the vast area of mangrove swamps and creeks where the oil is produced in Africa’s biggest petroleum industry. Some of the assailants are involved in the illegal theft of oil from wells and pipelines, while others claim political motivations for their deadly raids, seeking the release of their jailed leaders and greater funds for their deeply impoverished region.

IHT