Nigeria oil rebels say mulling Obama truce appeal

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) - Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria's oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

"The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem," the militant group said in an e-mailed statement.

MEND did not say when or where Obama, the leading candidate for the Democratic ticket for November's U.S. presidential election, made the appeal. It said it hoped the government would use any ceasefire to improve conditions for its detained leader, Henry Okah.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080504/wl_nm/nigeria_oil_rebels_dc;_ylt=AkjKQGoWztVsMLt8wlDASpVm.3QA

[caledesi]

1. Fired up! Ready to go! nt

[Connie_Corleone]

2. Kick!

[Doctor Cynic]

3. WIl they ask Obama to send $10K and promise to send him $3.4 million?

:shrug:

[ohio2007]

8. guess he replied to an e mail about accessing lost relatives bank accounts

nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

4. In one fell swoop

Obama will have more experience solving international crisis than all of Hillary's grabbing onto Bill's coat-tails in the 90's.

[Tunkamerica]

5. Obama is finished! He's now endorsed by Nigerian rebels.

He'll never recover.



for the slow: :sarcasm:

[iamjoy]

6. You May Be Right

you may be right and it may not be sarcasm. I put nothing past the lowness of the GOP attack and machine, and they're pretty successful at their spin. If they could make a war hero (John Kerry) look like a traitor, they can do the same with Obama's diplomatic skills.

[ohio2007]

7. MEND did not say when or where Obama...made the appeal . ?

snip
MEND did not say when or where Obama, the leading candidate for the Democratic ticket for November's U.S. presidential election, made the appeal. It said it hoped the government would use any ceasefire to improve conditions for its detained leader, Henry Okah.
snip
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080504/wl_nm/nigeria_oil_rebels_dc

Why doesn't Obama ask for a cease fire in all global conflicts ?

[ToughLuck]

9. Great piece..thanks. This will probably be used against him..lol..the idiots never stop trying .

[Zhade]

11. Especially given that his father was Nigerian.

I think he can weather this, though, since it's a call for peace.

[Megahurtz]

15. His father was from Kenya. n/t

[Strelnikov_]

10. Operation Cyclone

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2008/apr/29/national-29-04-2008-009.htm

South-South based militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has claimed that its Operation Cyclone meant to cripple Nigerian oil exports is recording success with the shutdown of 500,000 barrels per day in the combined attacks oil installations.

The group had in a statement last week announced the commencement of Operation Cyclone, which is targeted at crippling Nigerian oil exports in protest against the continued trial of its leader, Henry Okah.
MEND, in a statement made available to Daily Sun on Monday, quoted the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) that its attack on April 24 at the Kula Trunk line has further disrupted oil production, which it claimed the Federal Government has instructed Shell not to disclose.

[oviedodem]

12. Here is whats funny Obama may get them to STOP fighting but it will

get him into trouble!

The fighting MAY get the oil production back up to drop the price of gas as an end result. No one in the media however will care about that though.

Hilarious, he is not even president and MAY get a rebel group to cool it.

[Zachstar]

13. Not even the nominee yet and he is already starting to get others to talk about peace!

[ohio2007]

14. Nigerian Rebels Call on (former President Jimmy) Carter to Mediate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3283679

Same story,different name