Posted by Reuters, By Segun Owen on
Several people, including navy personnel, were killed during a gun battle between rival gangs over local politics in Nigeria's southern oil-producing state of Bayelsa on Friday, residents said.
YENAGOA, Nigeria, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Several people, including navy personnel, were killed during a gun battle between rival gangs over local politics in Nigeria's southern oil-producing state of Bayelsa on Friday, residents said.
Fighting in the town of Nembe -- nestled in the mangrove creeks of the Niger Delta -- started when a local chief went to a rival community to try to drum up support for a candidate in upcoming council elections, residents said.
A naval patrol was caught up in the skirmish and at least five marines and one civilian were killed, community leader Alfred Tamuno told Reuters at a hospital in the state capital Yenagoa where several wounded were being treated.
"I can confirm that there were some clashes in Nembe. We had some casualties," navy spokesman David Nabaida said, adding he did not believe the navy death toll was as high as five.
Bayelsa state is due to hold local government elections on a date yet to be announced, but political parties are preparing to nominate candidates, raising tensions in a region where foreign oil firms have facilities.
Bayelsa generally has been much quieter in recent months than neighbouring Rivers state, where militants who say they are fighting for a fairer share of the Niger Delta's wealth have bombed pipelines and oil platforms to push their demands.
The military taskforce in Rivers state said one of its navy personnel was killed late on Thursday when gunmen in speedboats attacked its positions at an oil flow station operated by U.S. energy firm Chevron
The line between militancy and criminality is blurred and clashes between rival gangs are common, although they most often are triggered by disputes over the control of lucrative routes for trading stolen oil, known locally as bunkering.
Rights groups say the upsurge of violence in recent years began with gangs set up by politicians to help them rig elections. The gangs got out of control, evolving into a mafia-like criminal network in the delta.
The unrest has cut oil output from the world's eighth biggest exporter by around a fifth. Nigeria is pumping just under 2 million barrels per day (bpd), well below its capacity of 3 million bpd, largely because of the insecurity. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Tume Ahemba; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Michael Roddy)