Nigeria rebel group Mend attacked oil pipeline using machine guns and assault rifles

Armed men in the Niger delta of Nigeria say they have attacked an oil pipeline overnight, putting a two-month truce with the government in doubt.

A faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it attacked the pipeline.

A spokesman said it was because the government was delaying peace talks due to the absence of ill President Umaru Yar'Adua, who is in Saudi Arabia.

Attacks have cost Nigeria millions in lost revenue over the years.

The faction said, in an e-mailed statement, that the "warning strike" was carried out by 35 men on five boats with assault rifles, rocket launchers and heavy-calibre machine guns.

It said the pipeline was in Abonemma, about 50km (30 miles) west of Port Harcourt.

Nigeria's military has not commented on the attack.

Peace talks were suspended when President Yar'Adua was hospitalised in late November in Saudi Arabia.

Full story: BBC News at 10:53 GMT, Saturday, 19 December 2009 - Nigeria rebels attack oil pipeline

Nigerian militants halt 'oil war'

Nigeria's main militant group has declared a ceasefire, following a week of attacks on oil installations in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had taken the decision after appeals from tribal leaders in the region.

But it warned it would end the truce if attacked by the army again.



Mend declared "war" on Nigeria's oil industry last Sunday after a fierce military raid on one of its bases.

Groups such as Mend claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta, but they are accused of making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.

The militants say they are fighting to bring more money to the Niger Delta.

Source: BBC News report Nigerian militants halt 'oil war' September 22, 2008. Photo credit AFP/BBC