At least 60 reported killed as troops battle Delta militants

At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta oil region during a pitched battle between troops and ethnic Ijaw militants fought a pitched battle, military sources and militants said. The latest confrontation signaled a worsening of a confrontation that has disrupted the operations of oil transnationals in the area and cut Nigeria's oil exports of about two million barrels a day by more than 10 percent. A military boat on Thursday brought in the bodies of five soldiers said to have been killed in an exchange of fire with Ijaw militants near the riverine village of Okerenkoko. Their colleagues told reporters the bodies of five other dead soldiers were yet to be recovered. Activists of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) said troops armed with machine guns and bazookas attacked their positions, killing at least 50 militants. The clashes were the latest twist in a conflict sparked by a violent dispute that broke out in the Delta town of Warri in February between the Urhobo and the Itshekiri communities over the delineation of electoral wards ahead of April-May general elections. Tension mounted in the area after the FNDIC joined the Urhobo in demanding the modification of the constituency boundaries which, they alleged, favoured the Itshekiri. "The Ijaws have a conflict with the Itshekiris and the military is taking sides with them and shooting only the Ijaws," George Timinimi, FNDIC spokesman, told IRIN. "We will fight them to a standstill." The group asked oil transnationals in their region, located in the northwest of the Delta, to close their operations and leave the area in their own interest, threatening to vandalise pipelines and other oil industry facilities if the military launched further attacks against them. Oil giants Royal/Dutch Shell and ChevronTexaco, which have operations in the conflict-ridden area have been pulling out their staff and shutting down facilities. They have also been helping to evacuate scores of displaced people from communities affected by the fighting. Shell said on Thursday it had closed 10 oil pumping facilities producing some 127,000 barrels of crude oil daily. ChevronTexaco said it had closed all its onshore facilities and cut its output of 140,000 barrels daily of crude oil. It said in a statement it would not be able to meet export commitments for March and April. The Nigerian authorities this week sent additional troops to the area. Army chief Lt Gen Alexander Ogomudia and other service chiefs were expected to visit Warri on Friday to discuss strategies for pacifying the militants. FNDIC activists said troops started the latest round of violence when they raided Okerenkoko last week, killing five people. The soldiers had accused community members of planning to disrupt the oil operations of Shell in the area and attacking nearby Itshekiri villages, they said.