Ten insurgents and two Cameroonian soldiers were killed in a rebel attack in the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula, Cameroon’s Defense Minister said on state-run TV on Friday.

Eight of the assailants were captured in the attack Thursday in the town of Kombo Ajanai, Remy Ze Meka said. He said a military battalion was attacked by an armed group on three power boats.

A spokesman for the armed rebel group, who identified himself as Commander Ebi Dari, told The Associated Press by telephone that more attacks will follow if Cameroon does not renegotiate its claim to the territory.

The rebels, who call themselves the Niger Delta Defense and Security Council, oppose Cameroon’s ownership of the West African peninsula, which is also claimed by Nigeria.

“We want Paul Biya (Cameroon’s President) and Nigeria’s President (Umaru) Yar’Adua to come together to renegotiate the Bakassi problem,” said Dari.

Four rebel attacks in the past nine months have claimed 37 lives.

Rich in offshore oil, the Bakassi peninsula is disputed between Cameroon and neighboring oil giant Nigeria. A 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice officially ended the border dispute, giving the peninsula to Cameroon.

Since then, a United Nations-led commission has been handing over pieces of the territory to Cameroon. The handover is expected to end Aug. 14.