Crisis in the Delta
Read Senator John Kerry’s Statement on the Need to Protect Civilians in the Niger Delta
Read Senator Russ Feingold’s Statement on the Military Violence
Read Amnesty International’s Statement on Citizens Caught in the Cross-Fire
On Wednesday, May 13, 2009 the Nigerian military Joint Task Force (JTF) commenced the land, water and aerial bombardment of a large area in the Niger Delta called the Gbaramatu Kingdom that includes the villages of Oporoza, Kurutie, Kunukunuma, Kokodiagbene, Okerenkoko, Azama, Benikurukuru and Ubefan, under the guise of attacking a MEND militant Camp. Reports suggest that thousands of civilians have been killed.
Displaced women and children taking refuge at the relief camp at Ogbeh-Ijoh
Residents of the villages and those visiting for a festival on the day the bombing began were forced to flee their homes and villages. They are hiding in the bush and do not have adequate food or medical supplies. The JTF has not allowed humanitarian aid groups or journalists into the area. As of May 20 the coordinated aerial and ground attacks by the JTF and mass starvation continues. Reports suggest that this was a well planned attack with the possible collusion of State government officials.
On May 20 several groups in the US sent a joint letter to the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor to call for an immediate investigation of the military violence in the Delta.
JINN supports the demands of several civil society groups in the Niger Delta and abroad to:
- Demand immediate ceasefire
- Conduct independent third party monitored diplomatic negotiations between all stakeholder
- Allow full and unfettered access to Gbaramatu Kingdom (the locus of the intense Nigerian military campaign) for journalists, humanitarian aid groups and human rights NGO’s
- Address the root causes of unrest in the Delta by investing in development of the region including clean water, electricity, schools and hospitals as well as an environmental audit and mitigations for damage caused.