Nigerian militants to hold 6 oil workers till end-May

LAGOS, May 1 (Reuters) A Nigerian militant group today said it abducted six foreign oil workers in an attack on a oil vessel in the Niger Delta.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it plans to hold the hostages -- four Italians, an American and a Croat -- until the end of May.

MEND said the captives are Italians Raffele Pascariello, Alfonso Frawza, Ignazio Gugliota and Mario Celetano, American John Stapleton, and Croat Juricha Ruic.

''The hostages will be released unconditionally on May 30, 2007,'' MEND said in an email statement. It added that this would be possible only if oil companies and the government do not try to secure their release by offering ransom.

The group said the attack was to serve as a disclaimer to reports that it was in support of Nigeria's president-elect Umaru Yar'Adua and his deputy Goodluck Jonathan, who is also the governor of Bayelsa state.

''This attack is one in a series intended to embarrass the out-going regime. It is also a warning to the incoming government,'' the statement said.

MEND, which says it is fighting for more local control over the Niger Delta's oil wealth, said the attack on an offshore loading terminal operated by US energy giant Chevron on the Penington River in Bayelsa state, should also serve as a warning to Royal Dutch Shell over its return to oilfields previously attacked by the group.

The group masterminded most of the attacks on oil facilities that have shut a fifth of Nigeria's output since February 2006 and forced thousands of foreign workers to flee the Niger Delta.

Reuters SY RS2100