"Oil War" may be re-launched

Leaders of the Niger Delta Vigilante Group (NDVG) and the Niger Delta Patriotic Force (NDPF) -- two militant groups operating in the Niger Delta -- stated on 2 October 2008 that they may relaunch an "oil war" in the region. The threat comes after the government Joint Task Force (JTF) recently made statements suggesting that it has placed its troops on "high alert" and has arrested more than 400 militants since a ceasefire was declared on 21 September. The militant groups claim that the JTF actions prove that it does not respect the ceasefire and that the militants may have no choice but to respond by relaunching the oil war in the near future. Nigeria's main militant group -- the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) -- and its allies undertook a seven-day "oil war" against expatriate personnel and facilities in the region in mid-September 2008. During the campaign, militants successfully attacked six oil facilities, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to declare "force majeure."