MEND says in talks over oil attacks:

Militant group MEND, which wreaked havoc on Nigerian oil facilities in the 2000s, said Sunday it was in back-channel talks with the government to end renewed violence in the oil-producing south.

“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) wishes to confirm that indeed it has been in preliminary talks with the federal government through oil companies and law enforcement agencies,” the group said in a statement.

It said the talks were aimed at “finding solutions to the short, medium and longterm future of the Niger Delta region”, home to the country’s massive oil and gas resources.

The group had last month called for a dialogue after a rival group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on oil facilities.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said last week that the government was negotiating with militants through oil companies and security agencies to end the string of attacks since February that have slashed output and worsened the country’s revenue targets. (AFP)