Rebels release two foreign oil workers

Kidnappers released two hostages, one British and the other Bulgarian, in Nigeria’s southern oil region, while the young son of a local legislator was seized in a separate incident and gun battles raged for a third day.

Gunmen had kidnapped the two workers July 8 from a river barge. A government spokesman said no ransom was paid.

Anger runs high among impoverished residents who have benefited little from four decades of oil production. Militant attacks have cut about one-quarter of normal production of 2.5 million barrels per day since violence began rising in late 2005.

In the city of Port Harcourt, residents reported that gunmen from rival gangs were firing at each other, and that security forces were engaging both sides.