CALABAR, Nigeria, AUG 12, SPA -- Nigeria has begun withdrawingthousands of troops from a disputed border region withCameroon in line with a U.N. ruling, AP quoted officials as sayingSaturday. The pullout of 3,000 Nigerian troops from the Bakassipeninsula, in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, began in recentdays and should end Monday, said Gen. Felix Chukwuma. Under the terms of the U.N.-backed deal, Nigeria willmaintain legal jurisdiction over the area for the next twoyears and residents will have the option of resettlement oraccepting Cameroonian nationality. However, many wish to remain under Nigerian rule. «As a law-abiding nation, all we want to do is abide bythe agreement,» said Chukwuma. «Some of the people arenot happy that we are going, but the government can work towin their hearts and minds.» For years, Nigeria and its West African neighbor Cameroonboth claimed ownership of the peninsula, home to tens ofthousands of people. The two countries nearly went to warin 1981, and clashes continued throughout the 1990s. Four years ago, a United Nations ruling awarded thepeninsula, which juts into the oil-rich waters, toCameroon. Several international companies are exploring the area foroil, including American giant ExxonMobil Corp. Last week, hundreds of Bakassi residents met to declarethe area independent of both Nigeria and Cameroon. «We have been existing in that place for over 500 years. That land belongs to us and we don't want to leave it. Wehave the human right of self-determination,» said TonyEne, a top leader of the independence movement. «If they don't comply with us, we are going to destroyall the oil exploration there.» Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil exporter and thefifth-largest supplier of crude to the United States. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/382364