Nigeria hails rebel amnesty amid ‘charade’ claim

The crowd of young men gathered around as police officers unloaded a small arsenal from the bed of a truck: buckets of bullets, boxes and boxes of machine guns and rocket launchers. The scene played out to cheers over the weekend as 1,000 militants and their commanders in the oil-rich Niger Delta region laid down their arms in exchange for a government amnesty program that promises them a pardon and a job. The program has been in place since August 6.

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Nigerian militant group attacks major oil pipelines

A militant group operating in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria said Monday that it had destroyed several major oil pipelines in response to a military offensive. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had “put out of operation” a Chevron storage facility by destroying several pipelines that fed into it

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Nigerian militants declare ‘all-out war’

A Nigerian militant group tangling with government forces in the country’s southern oil-producing region on Friday declared "an all-out war" after what it said was a deadly bombing raid on civilians. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, in e-mail messages to reporters, said it sank six army gunboats, destroyed three others, and captured three in the restive Niger Delta region. “Many soldiers have been killed and the military has made a hasty retreat,” said the group — which is calling on “men of fighting age to enlist” in its fight against government forces.

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Nigerian soldiers, militants clash in oil-rich region

Fighting erupted Wednesday between Nigerian soldiers and armed militants in the country’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta, both sides said. Militants belonging to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ambushed a military unit escorting Chevron workers at an oil terminal, injuring two soldiers, said military spokesman Col. Rabe Abubakar.

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Nigerian militants promise to free British hostages

A Nigerian militant group promised Sunday to release a sick British hostage held since September 2008. “Based on the milk of human kindness and compassion, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) will release Mr. Robin Barry Hughes on health and age considerations very soon,” the group said in a written statement

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Nigeria militants ‘repel attack, kill troops’

Militants in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta region said they killed six government soldiers after the military attacked one of its camps on Thursday. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, in an e-mail, said three military gunboats attacked one of its camps around the Ke River in the country’s Rivers state. The group said the gunboats were repelled, with six soldiers dying and three militant fighters wounded in the skirmish

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