A REBEL group in Nigeria's oil-rich delta has threatened to target oil installations in an escalation of the conflict.

Production in Africa's biggest oil exporter has not been disrupted by the fighting which has turned much of the region into a war zone. But that may change after one of the most powerful militias, the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, vowed this week to target wells and pipelines unless the government halted its offensive. Such attacks could increase global oil prices, since about half of Nigeria's 2.5m daily barrels comes from the Port Harcourt area where the militia operates.

"If this war on the Niger delta people is not stopped, oil installations will be attacked," a militia commander named Abiye told Reuters.

The militia, also known as the Egbesu Boys after the Ijaw god of war, has hundreds of fighters, a fleet of speedboats, heavy machine guns and intimate knowledge of the waterways and swamps. But since fighting flared two weeks ago it has been under pressure from attacks by the government's helicopter gunships.

Few doubt their ability to disrupt the oil industry: an uprising last year shut down 40% of Nigeria's production.-Dawn/ The Guardian News Service.