Nigeria's military on Wednesday denied quitting the Gbaramatu community where troops provide security for oil firms and staff, contrary to a claim by an armed group in the restive, oil-rich Niger Delta.

"The JTF (Joint Task Force) is still in Gbaramatu and will remain so until the situation is assessed to be normalising. Law-abiding citizens shouldn't fear as we are there for them," Joint Task Force spokesman Rabe Abubakar said in a statement.

He said "the presence of JTF in Gbaramatu and other parts of Niger Delta is for the security of lives and property of the law-abiding citizens, expatriates and the multi-national oil companies to feel secured to carry out their legitimate endeavours."

Last week, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most active armed group that says it is fighting for the benefit of local people, claimed that the JTF had withdrawn to enable displaced residents to return to their homes.

But Abubakar said the force had been "patrolling the waterways in order to create safe passages to those plying their trade. Therefore, the insinuations that the JTF has pulled out its troops from that area are baseless and falsely concocted."

Dozens of soldiers and civilians died in May during the clashes between troops and the militants in the area, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

The withdrawal of troops from Gbaramatu, in southern Delta State, is one of MEND's key conditions for ongoing peace talks with the government.

MEND is currently observing a 60-day ceasefire following the implementation of a government amnesty programme which runs from August 6 to October 4.

Unrest in the Niger Delta has substantially slashed Nigeria's oil production. Daily output currently stands at 1.68 barrels, according to the July report of the International Energy Agency, lower than 2.6 million in the beginning of 2006.