Ongoing friction between the majority Ijaw and the minority Itsekeri people culminated in the deaths of 20 persons this weekend in the southwestern town of Warri. More than 10,000 Nigerians have died in the past five years as a result of ethnic and religious conflict. Fighting for political control and land rights, these groups have also allied with opposing political factions in a larger battle for access to oil in the rich Niger Delta.
