Elf denies employees seized

French oil giant Elf Aquitaine denied on Friday reports that militants had stormed its housing complex in the southeastern city of Port Harcourt and seized 40 hostages. A company employee in the port city told IRIN there had only been people "milling around and restricting movement" to the premises, temporarily. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that youths demonstrated outside the premises. AFP reported that the protestors were demanding work. Earlier, Reuters quoted unnamed Elf officials as saying militants had stormed the facility and seized mostly British, French and (South) Korean employees. Since Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha died on 8 June 1998, militant youths from the southeast have been abducting foreign and local oil workers, seizing flow stations in demand for a greater share of the country's oil wealth. Much of this type of action has died down since President Olusegun Obasanjo started meeting community leaders and presenting the Niger Delta development bill before the house of assembly.