Extra troops for Nigeria oil town

Armed gangs of militant youths roam the swamps and creeks

Security is being beefed up in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt, after renewed violence left seven dead.

The army is now patrolling 24 hours a day to prevent further clashes, which have intensified after two months.

Following claims that the gangs behind the violence were related to local politicians, the state governor sacked his cabinet on Wednesday.

Rival armed gangs are also involved in the lucrative business of siphoning oil from the area's pipelines.

Local observers say youths hired to intimidate opponents during last year's elections were using violence to demand payment from their political backers.

Rivers State spokesman Emmanuel Okah said any public figures linked to the gangs, or cults, would be purged.

"If any public officer is linked to any cult, he or she will no longer find safe haven in the government. There is going to be a state of reorganisation," he said.

'Dastardly acts'

Governor Peter Odili said the gangs amassed sophisticated weapons to defend their illegal activities and usually targeted each other in their struggle for supremacy.

"Unfortunately these dastardly acts often take place within the town and innocent citizens are caught in the crossfire," Mr Odili said, promising to do everything necessary to rout the militias.

Fighting for Nigeria's oil

Several hundred people have fled the spiralling violence, most of which is taking place on the waterfront of Port Harcourt.

Shell, Nigeria's biggest oil producer, is in the process of moving its corporate headquarters from the commercial capital, Lagos, to Port Harcourt.

This move is putting pressure on the state government to deal decisively with the militias, says the BBC's Sola Odunfa in the town.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil exporter, but the Niger Delta region - the centre of the country's oil industry - is one of the most underdeveloped areas of the country and is prone to violence.

Sometimes armed militant youths kidnap oil workers and hold them to ransom for money.

But most of the time armed gangs roam the swamps and creeks stealing crude oil from pipelines.