Posted by By FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
A bloody clash among rival militant groups in Bayelsa State has left at least 20 people dead and a commander of one of the armed gangs severely injured. Consequently, security agents have been mobilized to Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the theater of the bloodletting to quell the clash.
A bloody clash among rival militant groups in Bayelsa State has left at least 20 people dead and a commander of one of the armed gangs severely injured. Consequently, security agents have been mobilized to Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the theater of the bloodletting to quell the clash.
Daily Sun gathered that the clash was triggered off late Sunday when the Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF) led by the warlord, Ateke Tom attempted to set up a camp in Opuama in the Southern Ijaw council area.
The NDVF was formerly based in Okirika but got chased out recently through the combined efforts of the Rivers State Government and the Joint Military Task Force. It therefore decided to set up another camp in Bayelsa.
However, a militant commander in the area popularly known as Prince Igodo vehemently resisted the moves for the establishment of an NDVF camp in the community, arguing that it was capable of threatening the peace.
It was further gathered the attempt by the NDVF to go ahead with its plan led to the fierce clash involving the use of sophisticated weapons by both groups.
According to sources, at least 20 people were killed, just as Igodo and several others suffered serious injuries, while the crisis still raged.
Igodo was said to have been taken to Ekeowe community for medical treatment, but was trailed to the place by members of the NDVF where another fierce battle ensued, forcing people living in the area to flee for dear life.
Sources said security operatives deployed in the area had been told to ensure that the fight stopped and that there was no reprisal attacks from other camps in the state.
The Commander of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in Bayelsa State, Lt. Colonel Chris Musa who confirmed the disturbance said it was an internal crisis, but that he had sent soldiers to the area to ascertain the situation.
'Yes, we understood that it was an internal affair that led to the fighting. I have already sent my boys to the area to get first hand information. But there is no cause for alarm as the situation has been brought under control," he said.
Militant groups, including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), have recently stepped up attacks against the nation's oil installations, demanding release of detained militant leaders and a genuine peace and development in the Niger Delta.
Only last Thursday, MEND attacked Dutch oil giant, Shell's deep offshore Bonga oil field, effectively cutting the nation's oil output by about 10 per cent.
The same day, militants inspired by the MEND also blew up the Abiteye-Olero crude oil pipeline belonging to the American oil giant Chevron.
The attacks sparked widespread concern, with President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ordering the military to avert further incidents and fish out the masterminds.