Armed group kidnaps South Korean oil workers in Nigeria

An unidentified armed group kidnapped five South Koreans and a Nigerian at an oil field in Nigeria today,

The victims were among a group of 14 workers at the site, said an official from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. The eight others escaped.

Three of the South Koreans were from Daewoo Engineering and Construction. The other two were from the state-invested Korea Gas Corporation. The other abductee was a local man.

The government planned to do its utmost to bring the victims home unharmed, the official said.

On Friday, a group of unidentified militants who were demanding jobs and money kidnapped eight foreign oil workers, including six British people, from an oil platform off Nigeria’s south-eastern coast. They were released on Sunday.

Unrest has plagued Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta region for years, and in recent months armed militants have stepped up a campaign against the oil industry, blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers.