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Article: Risky toughness; Nigeria.(More strife in Nigeria's delta region)(Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 20, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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River bandits or freedom-fighters?
The army's tough approach to Delta militants could end up uniting them
ARE battles between Nigeria's armed forces and militants in the Niger Delta pushing the country closer to catastrophe? The militants claim that Nigeria is "gradually heading towards an abyss of civil war." John Odey, Nigeria's minister of information, replies flatly: "There is no war and to describe it as a war is not accurate." But the government's new tough approach may have the dangerous effect of uniting the various armed gangs that oppose it in the oil-rich region.
In the early hours of September 13th the armed forces launched an ...