Nigerian soldiers target militants in oil region

AFP

12 May 2011

Nigerian soldiers target militants in oil region

LAGOS — Nigerian troops on Thursday pushed ahead with an operation to flush out a group of militants in the country's main oil-producing region, an army spokesman said, a day after the two sides exchanged gunfire.

The military declined to provide details on the operation targeting the militants in an area of Delta state in the Niger Delta region and it was unclear whether there were any casualties.

A spokesman for a military task force in the region said they had located recently constructed militant camps in an area of Delta state believed to be run by notorious gang leader John Togo.

"The (task force) is currently engaged in a military action to rout these criminals once and for all," said Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Antigha.

He accused the militants, which he estimated numbered between 70 and 100, of being involved in criminal activity in the area, including sea robberies.

Antigha said the fact that they had erected camps and were acting as an "authority" in the area "is enough for us to take them out".