August 28, 2005

The government has managed to get open violence under control. Feuding tribes and gangs (criminal, political and religious)  have been persuaded to keep the body count down. But the violence and fighting continues. The oil stealing gangs in the Niger river delta oil region are still in business, and under attack by security forces in plainclothes. In the north, Islamic conservatives continue to impose new lifestyle laws on the population, as part of their plan to turn the majority Moslem northern areas into a de-facto Islamic republic. The federal government is ignoring this, for the moment. In the central part of the country, the feuding Moslem and Christian tribes have been compelled to calm down by large numbers of police and soldiers.