WARRI CRISIS UPDATE 18AUG03

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001408

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2013
TAGS: EPET PINS PGOV PHUM NI
SUBJECT: WARRI CRISIS UPDATE 18AUG03

REF: ABUJA 1387 AND PREVIOUS


1.(U) Classified by Counselor James Maxstadt for reasons 1.5
(b) and (d).


2.(SBU) Over the August 15-17 weekend the Ijaw-Itsekiri
conflict intensified as militant youths engaged in almost
continuous gun battles in the port area of Warri town.
According to press reports, at least 30 and as many as 200
have died since the night of August 15, including four army
soldiers. A Nigerian cameraman for Reuters attempting to
videotape the fighting was briefly held hostage and his
camera was stolen.


3.(C) According to Daniel Ekpedibe, senior advisor of the
"Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC)" Itsekiri
militants arrived by boats the night of August 15 and
destroyed rows of houses and businesses belonging to Ijaws in
the "McIver" and "NPA" areas near the port. Initially
unchallenged, the Itsekiri attackers were soon confronted by
a group of Ijaw militants in a firefight that lasted until
dawn of August 16. After a few morning hours of relative
calm, Itsekiri militants returned to the Warri port area in
the afternoon of August 16, meeting better prepared Ijaw
militants and Federal security forces, and the firefight
resumed until the morning of August 17. Similar fighting
also occurred over the night of August 17, according to
unconfirmed reports. Local press reports that the army on
August 16 tightened the curfew in Warri to 6:00 p.m.to 6:00
a.m. (from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) but this had little
effect on the scheduling of the firefights.


4.(C) In an apparent counter-attack August 16, Ijaw militants
reportedly attempted to burn down the palace of the "Olu of
Warri," the traditional Itsekiri ruler, based in Warri town.
The press reports that the Ijaw militants encountered Army
soldiers at the Olu's palace; eight soldiers were killed,
though the army command claims only one soldier lost his
life. A story in the August 18 edition of "The Vanguard"
(Nigerian daily available online at www.vanguardngr.com)
claims LtCol Dogo, commander of the Nigerian Army's 7th
Battalion in Effurun, "lamented that the battalion was
overwhelmed by the superior fire power of the warriors." We
have been unable to obtain confirmation of the Army
casualties.


5.(C) During an August 18 phone conversation with Corporate
Responsibility Officer (CRO),Delta State Police Commissioner
Charles Akaya confirmed that a firefight between Itsekiri and
Ijaw militants lasted throughout the nights of August 15 and
16 and that police and military forces had moved in to push
back both sides. One policeman had been killed. He would not
comment on reports of Army casualties. He also confirmed
that a longer curfew was imposed in Warri town. Claiming "we
have the situation under control now," he said there was
only "sporadic" gunfire heard in the port area of Warri town
today.


6.(C) Ijaw National Leader Chief Edwin K. Clark assured CRO
August 17 that, despite the recurring Itsekiri attacks on
Ijaw in Warri town, the Ijaw militants of FNDIC would not
counterattack, provided the military takes steps to repel the
Itsekiri from the town. Clark blamed Chief Rita Lori and
other Itsekiri leaders for sponsoring Itsekiri aggression.


7.(C) When contacted by CRO August 18, Rita Lori declared "we
are going after them (the Ijaws). We are at war." She said
Itsekiri villagers were now moving back to the villages
destroyed during the March 2003 Ijaw attacks, but refused to
answer on objectives of the Itsekiri attacks in Warri town.


8.(C) Comment: The situation in Warri is chaotic, confused
and deteriorating rapidly, yet it has not affected oil
facilities and expatriate workers in Warri more than before
and they do not appear threatened for the time being. The
loss of life among Nigerians is growing at an alarming pace
and puts enormous pressure on the military to respond. The
Joint Task Force put together by the GON seems reluctant to
put an end to the killing.
ROBERTS