Pirates killed after violence on boat

According to Cameroon’s Ministry of Defence, the pirates’ speedboat was shattered and a consignment of weapons seized.

A release from the Ministry of Defence read over state radio, said three of the gunmen who were injured were taken prisoners and two others went missing. Meanwhile, none of the crew members of the fishing boat was harmed.

The release also said Cameroon forces are investigating who is responsible for the attack.

The incident which took place last week, is the umpteenth attack in the Gulf of Guinea since March, when gunmen attacked a supply vessel contracted by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), kidnapping four crew members in the same region near the Nigerian border.

Analysts have said that increasing numbers of attacks in the region, home to myriad rebel groups and smugglers, could pose a long-term threat to oil supplies from some of Africa's biggest producers -- Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.

Several Gulf of Guinea countries including Cameroon agreed last spring to join forces to fight rising crime along the coast, and the top oil consumer the United States said it would assist train African navies to boost maritime security.

Commander Ebi Dari, a former commander of the rebel group Niger Delta Defence and Security Council had sent a letter to the Cameroon government in August warning of an imminent attack by the group's former allies, the Bakassi Freedom Fighters.

Dari is quoted as saying in a telephone interview that the attack has come to confirm the reality of his warning.

BFF has said it is seeking compensation on behalf of Nigerians compelled to leave the Bakassi peninsula after the disputed land was handed over to Cameroon in 2008.

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