nigeria deployed navy ships to secure offshore bonga oil field

Nigeria Deployed Navy Ships to Secure Offshore Bonga Oil field

06-24-2008

The Nigerian Navy has deployed forces Offshore Nigeria around the Bonga oilfield, which had been attacked last week by armed members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

MEND, the most high-profile armed group in the oil-rich delta region, declared a unilateral ceasefire to begin midnight today and lasting until "further notice".

Last week's attack on the Bonga oilfield sent shock waves through government and oil circles as the facility lies 120 kilometres from the Nigerian coast and had previously been considered out of the reach of militant groups.

One military source said the two vessels deployed would only have a dissuasive effect, as they are not sufficiently mobile and no match for the MEND speedboats.