Skip to main content
BBCi   NEWS   SPORT   WEATHER   WORLD SERVICE   A-Z INDEX    SEARCH 

WATCH/LISTEN TO BBC NEWS
RELATED SITES
Sport
Weather
On This Day
LANGUAGES
Somali
French
Swahili
Great Lakes
Hausa
Portuguese
Last Updated: Friday, 22 August, 2003, 16:34 GMT 17:34 UK
High toll for Niger Delta violence
Ijaw militants in a speedboat
The Ijaw they are discriminated against

The number of casualties from the recent violence in the Delta port of Warri is much higher than previously believed, says the Red Cross in Nigeria.

After three days of relative calm, the Nigerian Red Cross says it has been able to assess the situation more accurately and it believes that about 100 people were killed and 1,000 injured.

It says the fighting between militias of the local Ijaw and Itsekiri people also drove several thousand residents of the city from their homes.

Army troops and riot police were deployed in the city, where authorities said that they had secured a cease-fire on Thursday, between the warring groups.

The violence between the Ijaw and Itsekiri people, in the oil-rich Delta region of Nigeria - has been the worst since March, when several multi-national oil companies were force to halt their operations.

Exclude

Delta State governor James Ibori, who led a peace mission to Warri on Wednesday, said he understood that some communities felt excluded from the economic benefits of the oil rich delta region but said the solution lay in dialogue and not armed confrontation.

The Ijaw perceive the Itsekiri to have been favoured by both the government and multi-national oil companies operating in the area.

But the BBC's Dan Isaacs says many people in Warri believe the real dispute is about which of the heavily armed groups controls the illegal trade in stolen crude oil.

Industry analysts estimate that at least 100,000 barrels of oil are diverted from official exports every day - rich pickings for the criminal underworld, using ethnic rivalries as an excuse for gang warfare.

Shell has advised its office staff not to turn up for work for the time being, but said oil-production had not been disrupted.

Following the violence in March, the oil companies evacuated most of their operational staff from the area, drastically cutting back production.

Some of that output has subsequently been restored, but these latest clashes are once again causing concern over the impact they will have on Nigeria's oil industry.



LINKS TO MORE AFRICA STORIES


 

SEE ALSO:
Nigeria oil town clashes ease
19 Aug 03  |  Africa
Battle rages in Nigeria's Delta
18 Aug 03  |  Africa
Nigeria's elections in the south
15 Apr 03  |  Africa


RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

TOP AFRICA STORIES NOW

E-mail services | Desktop ticker | News on mobiles/PDAs


Back to top ^^

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia
UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health
Have Your Say | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
BBCi Homepage >> | BBC Sport >> | BBC Weather >> | BBC World Service >>
Help | Feedback | News sources | Privacy | About the BBC
banner watch listen bbc sport Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific