Nigeria: MEND escalates instability

Security conditions in Nigeria show no sign of improvement. A new militant group in the Niger Delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), is tallying up the number of successful attacks against government security forces and multinational oil companies. MEND is a shadowy organization that first came to prominence on January 11, 2006 when it kidnapped oil workers based at Royal Dutch Shell's offshore EA oil rig. While the workers were released, MEND has proven to be a capable, armed organization. For instance, since January, MEND has killed at least 24 soldiers and police, kidnapped 13 oil workers and caused severe damage to several critical oil pipelines.