"Nigerian militants call indefinite cease-fire" by Associated Press | October 26, 2009
ABUJA, Nigeria - The main militant group declared an indefinite cease-fire yesterday, raising the prospect of peace in the oil-rich Delta region after nearly three years of hostilities have crippled production.
While the group has declared cease-fires before, this indefinite truce has greater significance as it comes soon after several high-profile militant commanders agreed to take part in a government amnesty to disarm. Last week, President Umaru Yar’Adua met with longtime militant leader Henry Okah, a move that the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says led to its to decision to declare the latest cease-fire.
The militant group’s shift in position comes after the government “expressed its readiness to engage in serious and meaningful dialogue with every group or individual towards achieving a lasting peace in the Niger Delta,’’ Jomo Gbomo, MEND spokesman said yesterday. Gbomo said that after the meeting, Okah had “indicated the willingness of the government to negotiate’’ with MEND.
State oil companies reacted positively to the development. “That’s good news. This is what we want to hear and what we are looking for,’’ said Levi Ajunuma, spokesman for Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. Nigeria’s oil minister and several other government officials did not respond to repeated phone calls. The attacks from MEND and unrest in the Niger Delta region had cut Nigeria’s oil production by about a million barrels a day, allowing Angola to overtake it as Africa’s top oil producer.
As always, the REASON the article makes it in the paper!
Related: African Safari: From A to Z
If it's the resources that aren't a concern, it's Israel's concern then.
The new cease-fire, which took effect yesterday, comes after government officials said that more than 8,000 militants, including several top leaders, have taken part in amnesty program that began in August and required participants to disarm.
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