MEND claims AGIP pipeline attack in Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) said on Friday it attacked and destroyed a pipeline belonging to AGIP Oil Company, a subsidiary of Italian oil giant ENI, in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region.

''At 0210 Hrs on Friday, April 13, 2012, fighters of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (M.E.N.D) attacked and destroyed one wellhead and one manifold on trunk lines belonging to Agip Oil Company, a member of the Italian ENI group,'' MEND said in a statement e-mailed to the media.

''These attacks took place in Clough Creek, Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria,'' it said, warning that more attacks will follow.

MEND has recently been threatening to carry out massive attacks in the oil region, despite a 2009 government amnesty programme that saw many militants, including members of the group, renounce violence.

Since the amnesty, widely regarded as a success, attacks on oil facilities as well as kidnapping of oil workers have reduced.

On 1 March, MEND also claimed the attack on a marine police checkpoint in Bayelsa state, in which four policemen were killed.
-0- PANA SEG 13April2012