Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A passenger speedboat churns up the water, while in the background an illegal oil refinery is left burning after an earlier military chase, in a windy creek near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Dec. 6, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man works at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A locally made boat containing crude oil is maneuvered through a creek near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Dec. 6, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A worker pours crude oil into a locally made burner using a funnel at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 25, 2012.

By Akintunde Akinleye, Reuters

Here and there on the banks, people coated in oil wade through greasy mud in patches of landscape blackened and stripped of the thick vegetation that makes Nigeria's oil-producing delta so hard to police. Plumes of grey or yellow smoke fill the air as men who will give only their first names go to work in an illegal industry that the government says lifts a fifth of Nigeria's output of two million barrels a day.

Oil 'bunkering' -- hacking into pipelines to steal crude then refining it or selling it abroad -- has become a major cost to Nigeria's treasury, which depends on oil for 80 percent of its earnings.

Major General Johnson Ochoga, who leads a military campaign against bunkering that was stepped up last year under orders from President Goodluck Jonathan, told Reuters nearly 2,000 suspects had been arrested and 4,000 refineries, 30,000 drums of products and hundreds of bunkering boats destroyed in 2012.

Yet the complicity of security officials and politicians who profit from the practice, and the lack of alternatives for those who undertake it, cast doubt on the likelihood of success.

Read the full story.

Editor's note: Reuters made these pictures available to NBC News on Jan. 15.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A warning sign belonging to the company Royal Dutch Shell is seen along the Nembe Creek in Bayelsa on Dec. 2, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man named Godswill works at an illegal oil refinery site, where steam rises from pipes carrying refined oil from a burner into broken containers, near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man named Godswill collects crude oil from a mini storage unit filled with oil, which is waiting to be refined at an illegal refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Ebiowei, 48, pours water to reduce the intensity of the fire in a locally-made burner at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A closed fuel station is seen in the Ahoada community near Nigeria's oil hub city of Port Harcourt on Dec. 6, 2012.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Extremes of wealth and poverty revealed in photos of Nigerian oil industry
• Pipeline explosion kills at least 3 in Nigeria
• Wicked wicker car wows in Nigeria
• Smoldering scene in Lagos, Nigeria after plane crash
• Secret prison in the jungle on Nigerian island
• Thousands of Nigerians protest fuel prices, as government fears 'anarchy'

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

People look at the interior of a car covered with woven raffia palm cane parked along a road in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, on Jan. 10.

A car covered with woven raffia palm cane is parked in front of an artisan's workshop in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, on Jan. 10. The car appears to be a form of mobile advertising for the artisan's services.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Artisan Ojo Obaniyi, 40, weaves a cover with raffia palm cane for a wheel plate at his workshop in Ibadan.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Mumbai taxi drivers bid farewell to an icon of the road
• An Aston Martin you can afford, but just can't fit in
• Homemade Lamborghini replica draws admiring glances from Chinese drivers

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Sia Kambou / AFP - Getty Images

People leave Damara, the last strategic town between the rebels from the Seleka coalition and the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, on Jan. 2, 2013, as the commander of the regional African force FOMAC warned rebels against trying to take the town, saying it would "amount to a declaration of war."

Ben Curtis / AP

Chadian soldiers who are fighting in support of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize ride in a convoy on the road leading to Damara, about 44 miles north of Bangui, on Jan. 2, 2013.

Rebels in the Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, Reuters reports.

The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging on a previous peace deal and cracking down on dissidents.

More than 30 truckloads of troops from neighboring Chad lined a two-lane highway outside the nearby town of Damara on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports, supporting government forces who aimed to block the rebel advance. Gen. Jean Felix Akaga, who heads a 10-nation regional force, said the town is a "red line that the rebels cannot cross" or his forces will attack. 

The U.S. Embassy in Bangui was evacuated on Dec. 28 as a result of the uncertain security situation in the country.

Ben Curtis / AP

Chadian soldiers on the road leading to Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

Ben Curtis / AP

A Chadian soldier sits on a truck near Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

Ben Curtis / AP

A soldier runs to jump on a moving truck carrying Chadian soldiers in Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

Anti-Morsi protesters shout slogans during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4, 2012.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

An Egyptian woman holds a national flag as she listens to speakers, not pictured, in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Reuters reports — Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Morsi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.

Officers fired teargas at up to 10,000 demonstrators angered by Morsi's drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and protested next to the perimeter wall.

The crowds had gathered nearby in what organizers had dubbed "last warning" protests against Morsi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. "The people want the downfall of the regime," the demonstrators chanted.

"The president left the palace," a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed. Full story…

Asmaa Waguih / Reuters

A protester carries a shield belonging to a riot police member who ran away as protesters clash briefly with riot police during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

A woman stands near barbed wire in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

An anti-Morsi protester sprays paint reading "Control by Revolution" on a riot police vehicle during clashes in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square as protesters gather in Cairo, Dec. 4.

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Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

Would-be immigrants row in an inflatable boat off the Spanish coast on December 3, 2012.

Spanish emergency services and the Moroccan navy intercepted three inflatable boats carrying sub-Saharan migrants across the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports.

Thousands of Africans attempt to reach Europe from Morocco every year by crossing the narrow straits, often in leaky boats, with many dying.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

A would-be immigrant is helped to get on board a Spanish emergency services (Salvamento Maritimo) boat off the Spanish coast on December 3, 2012.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

Would-be immigrants use their own cell phones to call relatives and other immigrant boats after being rescued by Spanish emergency services in the Strait of Gibraltar on December 3, 2012.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

A would-be immigrant prays after boarding a boat of the Spanish emergency services in the Strait of Gibraltar on December 3, 2012.

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Residents of the district around the military barracks celebrate as a Congolese government army (FARDC) soldier arrives in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Dec. 3.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Congolese government army troops ride on trucks through Gomaon Dec. 3.

Reuters reports: Government forces re-established control over Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Monday after rebels withdrew, but a senior official said the insurgents were only a few kilometers away and still posed a threat.

The M23 rebel movement pulled its fighters out of the North Kivu provincial capital on Saturday after seizing it from fleeing U.N.-backed government forces and holding it for 11 days. Full Story

 Also on PhotoBlog: 

• Congo's displaced fearful after attack on camp
• Reluctant to leave, some rebels begin withdrawing around Goma
• Congo rebels pulling back; fate of Goma uncertain

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A Congolese government army soldier stands outside the military barracks in Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A woman dances to celebrate the return of government soldiers to Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A boy dances to celebrate the government army's return to Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Government army soldiers use mobile phones to record videos in the town of Sake, some 17 miles west of Goma on Dec. 3.

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A group of internally displaced Congolese gather in the Mugunga III IDP camp in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on December 2, 2012.

UN refugee agency officials reported cases of looting and rape in an attack late on Saturday on a camp for people displaced by the fighting in eastern Congo, Agence France-Presse reports.

On Sunday people in the Mugunga III camp, which lies about six miles west of Goma and is home to up to 35,000 displaced people, lined up to receive food aid.

More photos from The Democratic Republic of Congo on PhotoBlog

"What is the point of all this food if there is no-one here to protect us, and to stop them coming back?" one resident of the camp asked. 

Rebel fighters pulled out of Goma on Saturday, raising hopes regional peace efforts could advance negotiations to end the insurgency.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A boy shelters from the rain under a truck in the Mugunga III IDP camp on December 2, 2012.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A man unloads sacks of food aid at the Mugunga III camp on December 2, 2012.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A boy is apprehended by a policeman after he was accused of stealing a bag of salt in the Mugunga III IDP camp on December 2, 2012.

What makes a nation, other than its people? Is it the flag, the passport, the currency, the anthem? Or is it something more complex and harder to pin down?

In seeking to illustrate the latest in a series of Reuters special reports on the growing pains of South Sudan, photographer Adriane Ohanesian gathered a selection of objects. 

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

Photo illustrations, clockwise from top left: A South Sudanese passport; A South Sudanese five pound note; A motorcycle license plate from the new nation's Eastern Equatoria State; A copy of South Sudan's national anthem handwritten by Gabriel Arnest, one of its three composers.

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

Photo illustrations, clockwise from top left: The South Sudan national soccer team's jersey; A bottle of White Bull beer, produced in Juba; A tote bag with the slogan 'I heart Juba'; A car air freshener showing the seal of South Sudan.

Reuters reports — Not all new countries are really new. Some are born almost fully formed; others have to start from nothing.

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

The flag of South Sudan.

That difference is crucial to a new nation's chances of success.

More than half the youngest nations in the world were born or reborn after the collapse of communism in Europe and had existed as independent states as far back as the Middle Ages. Most regained independence with established institutions — courts, banks, police forces, schools — and skilled people to run them.

Interactive: Key measures on the world's newest countries

South Sudan, which gained full independence last year, is at the other end of the spectrum. When it won a measure of autonomy from Sudan in 2005, its roster of organized, national institutions began and ended with its army.

"In the case of South Sudan, you don't reconstruct, you don't rebuild, you start from scratch," Hilde Johnson, the U.N. Secretary General's Special representative for South Sudan, told Reuters. Read the full story.

Related content: 

• Blood and oil tinge South Sudan's first birthday
• 120 doctors for 8 million people: South Sudan's health-care gap
• Slideshow: South Sudan declares independence
• More images from South Sudan on PhotoBlog

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

An M23 rebel patrols in the hills surrounding the town of Mushaki, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Nov. 29, 2012.

The AP reports: Rebels who last week seized Goma, one of the most important cities in eastern Congo, said they had pulled back slightly and were on track to leave the city by Friday, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the international community.

The apparent withdrawal of the M23 rebels indicates that international pressure may have succeeded in reversing the rebel advance and staved off what could have been the start of a new war between the enormous, jungle-covered nation of Congo and its much smaller and more affluent neighbor, Rwanda. Full Story

Jerome Delay / AP

M23 rebels gather in the eastern Congo town of Sake, some 17 miles west of Goma, Congo, on Thursday.

Jerome Delay / AP

Congolese people look at a Congolese government soldier as government troops gathered Thursday in a stadium near Minova, Congo, some 25 miles southwest of Goma, for a morale building session and an address by their commander, Gen. Bahouma.

Jerome Delay / AP

FARDC Congolese government special forces gather in a stadium near Minova, Congo on Thursday for a morale-building address by their commander.

Also on PhotoBlog:

• Congo's displaced wait for resolution
• Congo army fights back, rebels hold Goma
• Congo police surrender, hand in weapons as rebels take control of Goma

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

M23 rebel fighters rush from Goma to the town of Sake to reinforce positions as residents of Sake flee with their belongings on the road between Goma and Sake in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 22, 2012. Many of the fleeing residents stopped at an internally displaced person camp between Sake and Goma.

Reuters reports — Congolese troops fought back on Thursday against rebels who rejected calls from African leaders to quit the eastern city of Goma, captured earlier this week in a major upset that forced U.N. troops to withdraw.

Thousands of people fled the area of clashes around the town of Sake, as M23 rebel fighters rushed from Goma to reinforce their positions against an army counter-offensive.

Both sides claimed control of Sake as night fell on the troubled eastern area. There was no independent verification of who was holding the town.

The M23 rebel movement, widely believed to be backed by Rwanda, has vowed to "liberate" all of the vast, resource-rich country after taking Goma, a provincial capital on the Rwandan border, ramping up tensions in a fragile region. Full story…

Jerome Delay / AP

Women run after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battle over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, Nov. 22. The woman in orange, identified as Mamou, said she lost her husband by a fatal wound to the head from incoming mortar rounds. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Thousands of Congolese flee the town of Sake, about 16 miles west of Goma, following fresh fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nov. 22.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Congolese children sit on a step in front of M23 rebels in Sake, Nov. 22, 2012. Rebels took the town yesterday, but were engaged in heavy gunfighting this afternoon as government-allied militia tried to retake it.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

A woman who fled her home in Sake emerges from a shelter at an internally displaced person camp in Mugunga, between Goma and Sake, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 22.

Related Articles:

• Congo suspends army chief after U.N. arms sale report
• Congo M23 rebel leader in Uganda for talks: source
• Congo demands sanctions on Rwanda, Uganda over rebels

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Dai Kurokawa / EPA

An inmate sits in his cell in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 25, 2012.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

A female inmate looks out the prison door at Juba Central Prison in Juba, South Sudan, Oct. 23.

European Pressphoto Agency reports — Built in 1948 by the British colonial government, Rumbek Central Prison houses some 600 prisoners who live in overcrowded cells with virtually no access to basic health care, sanitation, as well as adequate food and nutrition.

Arbitrary detention is rife in South Sudan, says a 2012 report by Human Rights Watch. Several inmates interviewed, some of them on death row, said they had no access to lawyers or any form of legal aid. But it is merely just one of several human rights laws being broken at the prisons in South Sudan. Conditions in the country's prisons 'clearly do not comply with international or domestic law and standards on prisoners' welfare', the report continues. Those who are accused of or convicted of murder are often shackled for extended periods of time, if not permanently. And corporal punishment is often used to 'discipline' inmates such as being beaten with a stick or whip for fighting or disobeying prison officers.

Smile Tombek, 33, an inmate in Juba Central Prison, says he was sentenced to 14 years in jail without a trial along with his three sisters, for killing a man, but no one told them who is accused of the killing. 'Someone was murdered and our whole family was accused so we were arrested, and then taken directly to this prison from the police station. Since then, I have never had a chance to talk to anyone, like a lawyer'.

The prison director at the Rumbek Central Prison says that he acknowledges the poor conditions at his prison but there have been some improvements over the past year, although the government needs more funding. South Sudan's economy has been seriously damaged following the halting of its oil production after a border dispute with its northern neighbor Sudan. The world's newest nation still has a lot of work to do for its citizens - whether they are guilty of a crime or not.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Text and images made available to NBC News on Nov. 21

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

Shackled inmates sit in the yard in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 24.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

Inmates line up bowls of food for dinner in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 25.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

An elderly inmate leans against a cross at a yard inside the Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 25.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

Shackled inmates wash their hands and feet at a yard in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 24.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

Shackled inmates play cards in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 25.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

A female inmate, said to be mentally ill, lies down in her cell, soiled with her own urine and feces, in Juba Central Prison in Juba, South Sudan, Oct. 23.

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