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Shell Soldiers says 200 militants killed in Delta State

Posted by cozzy webtatafo on May 17, 2009 at 5:00pm
At least 200 militants have been killed in the recent clash with the Nigerian military in the oil rich southeast Delta State, security sources said on Friday. "The militants gave a feeble resistance but cave in to the firepower of our boys, there is no doubt that about 200 of them must have died in the engagement," the sources said. An all-out war broke out on Friday between militants and operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) taking a military action code-named Operation Restore Hope. Security sources told 9jabook sources that the soldiers moved into Camp 5, the major base of militants in Delta State axis of the Niger Delta, by 10 a.m. local time and bombarded the place with shells from gunboats. Soldiers also used artillery on the ground while the air force covering the operation headed by the new commander of the JTF, Sarkin Yaki Bello, who was at the JTF headquarters with his deputy Wuyep Rimtip when the militants launch an attack on Wednesday. The operation began at Oporoza where there was little resistance to the military entry. Exchange of fire was reported after the militants moved to Camp 5. "The battle was simple for our boys, they had been spoiling for action against that Tompolo and his boys in that camp who always claim they have more strength than them," the sources said. After the Oporoza raid, the soldiers then moved to the nearby Kunukunuma and Okerenkoko, all around Chanomi creeks where the militants held sway. The leader of Camp 5 militants is feared to be killed, but could not be verified. The Management of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has reportedly started evacuating their personnel from the troubled area while Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) restricted the movement of their workers within their facility. With the battle going on, there was fear that residents in the region of Warri were caught up in the crossfire between the soldiers and militants in the town. Rabe Abubakar, the spokesman for the military, said soldiers launched the operation to weed out the criminals that attacked their soldiers and hijacked two vessels in the area. He said it was the responsibility of JTF to fish out the hoodlums that attacked their men. Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta(MEND) said one of the hostages was killed by stray bullets from the Nigerian army who attacked an area they were being held in Delta state. The hostage was a Filipino sailor seized from the boat, the MV Spirit, on Thursday morning, militants said. The Nigerian military clashed with the MEND in southern Delta State on Wednesday morning.
Tags: 200, Delta, State, in, killed, militants, military, says
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