Two Finns among hostages released in Nigeria
after firefight
Armed men kidnapped seven workers of Italian oil company
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Nigerian government forces on Wednesday freed two Finns who had been kidnapped along with five other oil workers by gunmen in the south of Nigeria. One of the hostages was killed and another was injured in the rescue.
The Associated Press reports that the dead oil worker was British. The hostage who sustained injuries was Italian.
The Finns and the three other freed hostages were reportedly in good condition.
Pasi Tuominen of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said that the Finns were sent to a hospital run by their employer, the Italian oil company Eni, in the city of Port Harcourt. A representative of the Finish Embassy told the Finnish News Agency STT that the two Finns will leave for home on Thursday.
Eni would not say how long the Finns had been working for the company, or the nature of their jobs.
In a gunfight that broke out during the operation, one kidnapper and one Nigerian naval soldier were killed.
The incident began Tuesday night when ten armed men attacked a service vessel belonging to Eni off Port Harcourt on Nigeria’s south coast. In addition to the Finns, the hostages included an Italian, a Briton, a Filipino, a Pole, and a Romanian.
There were 83 people on board, 25 of whom were foreign and the rest were Nigerian.
On Wednesday, before the government forces attacked, Eni said that the company was hoping to resolve the situation in cooperation with the Italian Foreign Ministry and the EU countries.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said on Wednesday evening before the hostages were freed, that a resolution should be sought as quickly as possible.
The Associated Press reports that the kidnappers had issued a ransom demand to the Italian company.
Nigeria, with its population of over 130 million, is the eighth-largest oil exporter in the world. Attacks of sabotage against the oil industry have cut output by between 20 and 25 percent.
Several foreign oil companies operate in the most important oil producing area in the Niger River delta. Oil workers are kidnapped in the restless areas on almost a weekly basis.
The crimes are committed both by ordinary criminal gangs, as well as organised guerrilla movements, who want a greater share of state oil revenue for the poverty-stricken local residents.
Ransom demands have generally involved money, but sometimes there are demands for the building of schools, for instance. The hostages have generally been freed.
Many countries, including Finland, have recommended that their citizens avoid travel to the delta region.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 23.11.2006 - TODAY |
 Two Finns among hostages released in Nigeria
after firefight |
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