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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Nigeria gunmen free foreign hostages |
| 2010-07-05 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Nigerian gunmen have released a dozen foreign seafarers, who were taken hostage two days ago in Nigeria's restive oil rich Niger Delta. Gunmen stormed a cargo vessel off the coast of the Delta late Friday, wounding one of the crew -- reportedly a Ukrainian -- in a shoot-out and capturing 12 including Germans and Russians. "I can confirm to you they have indeed been released," Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for a special security force deployed in the area, told AFP on Sunday. No one has claimed responsibility for the capture of the BBC Polonia, registered in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, and its multinational crew. Navy spokesman David Nabaida said the men were dropped off on a fishing trawler and the navy went to collect them. The latest incident comes as hostage-taking has become rampant in recent years in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's largest oil and gas riches, with hundreds of foreigners and local officials kidnapped each year. Ransom is largely believed to have been the main force behind the attacks, which have forced foreign oil and construction firms to spend millions of dollars to stave off the ongoing threats to the lives of their workers. |
| Posted by:Fred |