United Press International

Nigeria braces for push against oil rebels
Published: Sept. 11, 2009 at 12:01 PM

As the mid-September deadline for a cease-fire in Nigeria's oil war approaches with no sign of a mass surrender by rebels who have shattered the country's oil production, President Umaru Yar'Adua is preparing for an all-out army offensive, according to published reports.

Earlier offensives failed to crush the rebels, but this time Yar'Adua will have Israeli warships and trainers to help his forces operate in the swampy Niger Delta.

There is mounting evidence that the government of Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’adua is set to launch a full-scale offensive in the Niger Delta when a ceasefire declared by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ends on 15 Sep 2009.

And this time, Nigerian military forces will be using special warships, helicopter gunships and troop transports, and unmanned drone intelligence planes and ships sold to Nigeria by Israeli, Malaysian, Singaporean, Dutch, and Russian companies.