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Nigeria reacts to al-Qaeda claims
Here is a link to a ThreatsWatch piece I did on the situation in Nigeria about a month ago. The short answer is that the Ijaw are Christian but they are led by a Muslim convert and the situation is a little murky. I can't imagine the Ijaw getting in bed with al-Qaeda, but their Fearless Leader(TM) might know more than he lets on. Islamic groups close to the al-Qaeda network have claimed responsibility for guerilla operations against foreign oil companies in the Niger Delta in Nigeria. In an apparent link between international jihadi groups and the ongoing unrest in the country, the groups websites have published photographs of nine employees of the US petrol company, Wilbros, kidnapped on 18 February. Their captors are militants who want foreign oil companies to abandon the area and ensure that a good percentage of the income from the industry goes to the local Ijaw ethnic group. Photos of the Lions of Nigeria after having taken prisoner some Americans runs the headline, with the following text: Allah supports you oh Lions of Nigeria! These are the photos of the mujahadeen in Nigeria after the seizure of nine hostages from the US oil companies who rob the wealth of Muslim Nigeria and of the world. Subsequently, six of them were freed and they are Muslims while the American pigs remain in their hands. The message refers to the release on 1 March of six of the hostages. The first to be freed was an elderly American, Macon Hawkins, who suffers from diabetes and was freed on his 69th birthday. After that, two Egyptian, two Thai and a Filipino workers were also released. Two American citizens and one Briton are still being held. Al-Qaedas attempts at interrupting strategic energy resources in Muslim countries were highlighted by a foiled attack on the worlds biggest oil processing plant in Saudi Arabia late last month. Al-Qaeda has warned of further attacks on oil installations and Saudi forces later killed five suspected militants believed to be linked to the suicide bomb attempt. Meanwhile, sources at the State Security Service (SSS) headquarters confirmed the news, adding that they were working on various variables ranging from political, religious to foreign connection and even the oil companies themselves. According to the sources, they were doing all these in order to cause disability in the country and portray Nigeria in bad light before the international community. In another development, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), at its 40th ordinary meeting presided over by its President, Dr Edmund Daukoru, on Wednesday in Vienna, Austria, decided to maintain its current output of 28 million barrels per day after taking a look at market fundamentals. Opec said, Conference decided to maintain the current OPEC production ceiling of 28.0 million barrels per day for the time being, in order to contribute further to market stability and robust global economic growth, as well as maintain prices at levels reasonable to both producers and consumers. In taking this decision, the conference again confirmed the organisations commitment to continuing to play its role in maintaining stability and ensuring that global markets remain adequately supplied at all times. The statement continued, having reviewed the oil market outlook, the conference observed that world economic performance remains strong. The conference also noted that although all indicators show that the market is fundamentally well-supplied with crude oil and that commercial oil stocks in the OECD are at high levels, world crude oil prices remain volatile, these being driven by geopolitical factors and associated concerns regarding potential future supply disruptions as well as downstream bottlenecks, exacerbated by more stringent US fuel quality standards. These factors are reflected in the increased activity observed in the futures market and the pattern of disconnect between prices and commercial stock levels that has become apparent since 2004. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-03-09 |
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