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Colombian oil worker killed
28/09/2007 14:06 - (SA)
Port Harcourt - Gunmen wearing military fatigues killed a Colombian oil worker and kidnapped three other workers in an attack on a riverside oil services company compound in southern Nigeria, said officials.
Attackers firing their weapons sprang from a skiff as it landed near a compound housing an Italian oil-services firm on Thursday, said oil industry officials and police. A Nigerian was also abducted.
A police spokesperson, Ireju Barasua, said: "The suspected militants went there through the waterway and shot sporadically at the facility. In the process, an expatriate was shot while another expatriate and a Nigerian were taken away."
Barasua said the attack took place at the premises of oil and gas services firm Saipem, which was 43% owned by Eni SpA. Eni said in a statement that the Colombian who was shot during the incident later died of his injuries at an area hospital.
Talks 'make no progress'
While the police said one foreigner and one Nigerian were abducted, ENI said one Filipino and another Colombian were taken and did not mention an abducted Nigerian.
In the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos also said a Filipino had been abducted in the attack.
On Sunday, the main militant group in the region said it was ending a unilateral cease-fire it had announced to give the new government of President Umaru Yar'Adua time to negotiate with fighting factions.
The group said talks had made no progress, and that the government had framed one of its leaders, who they said had been arrested in a foreign country.
The group - known as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND - said it wasn't responsible for Thursday's attack. MEND began targeting the oil in industry in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, in 2005.
200 foreigners kidnapped
MEND, which said it's fighting for more oil-industry revenues for their impoverished region, spearheaded the practice of kidnapping foreigners.
Criminal gangs without any pretense of political motives also took up kidnapping, and nearly 200 foreigners had been kidnapped since the militant's activities sparked a decline in security across the region.
Hostages were generally released unharmed after a ransom was paid, although at least one died during a rescue attempt by security forces.
Attacks on the oil industry slackened after Yar'Adua took power in late May, saying that calming the Niger Delta region was a national priority.
The government had been talking with various militant groups, and released from prison two leaders from the region who had been jailed on corruption or treason charges.
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