Nigerian rebels threaten war
LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- The Nigerian rebel group fighting government troops in the oil-rich Niger delta has warned it will launch "all-out war on the Nigerian state" from October 1 and advised all oil companies to shut production by then.
The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, in a communique issued Moda after a meeting of its central command, also advised all foreigners to leave the delta, which pumps all of Nigeria's 2.3 million barrels per day production.
The rebel group's leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, accused Royal Dutch Shell, Nigeria's largest oil producer, and Italy's Agip, a unit of ENI, of "collaboration with the Nigerian state in acts of genocide against our people."
Asari said his group would not attack oil installations because it did not want to pollute the delta environment, but foreign oil workers would be targeted.
