Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Italians released in Niger Delta

Two Italian oil workers who were abducted in southern Nigeria three months ago have been released.

The employees of the oil company, Agip, were kidnapped on 7 December during an attack on an oil export terminal in the Niger Delta.

They were seized by a local militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend).

In a statement, the group said it would step up attacks on the facilities and stage bombings across the province.

"We will take more hostages and concentrate on locations believed to be secure to dispel the false sense of security being felt by some in the oil industry and foreign industry watchers," Mend said in an email statement.

Ransom demands

On their release, the men were reported to be in good health but suffering from stress.

They had been kidnapped along with two other Agip employees. One man, a Lebanese national, managed to escape last month, while another Italian was freed in January.

Mend is demanding the release of two prominent local leaders, regional control over oil resources and compensation from oil companies for pollution in the Delta.

In the last 12 months, more than 100 foreign workers have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, Africa's largest oil-producing region - leading to a 20% fall in oil exports.

In most cases in the Delta, hostages are released unharmed after a week or two in captivity after a ransom has been paid.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6452673.stm

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