"Disputed territory is handed to Cameroon" by Will Connors, New York Times News Service | August 15, 2008
LAGOS, Nigeria - After 15 years of political debate and periodic violence, the Nigerian government officially handed over the potentially oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon yesterday in a ceremony overseen by senior politicians, United Nations officials, and a heavy military presence.
The 1,200-square-mile stretch of marshland between the two countries, the waters of which are a fishing hub and may hold vast unexplored oil deposits, has been argued over for decades. Nigeria and Cameroon nearly went to war over the peninsula and its riches on several occasions, and UN officials at yesterday's ceremony were quoted as saying that the handover would help improve relations between the two countries.
Bakassi has been in diplomatic limbo since Cameroon filed suit over the area with the International Court of Justice in 1994. The court awarded the land to Cameroon in 2002, but the handover was delayed by arguments within Nigeria's government and several clashes led by militants saying the land belongs to Nigeria.
In July, a little-known rebel group calling itself The Niger Delta Defense and Security Council killed two Cameroonian soldiers and vowed to carry out further attacks. In the last year, at least 50 people have been killed in violence surrounding the area.
I'm always suspicious of "little known groups."
So WHO is funding and supporting them?
The waters off of the peninsula are thought to hold significant oil deposits, though no oil has been extracted. Nigeria and Cameroon have pledged to work together to explore the deposits. The region is home to an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Nigerian fishermen.
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Which is why it draws attention from the agenda-pushing MSM!
