Nigeria's main armed group says to resume attacks

The main armed group in southern Nigeria said Wednesday it will resume attacks on the oil industry when its ceasefire expires on October 15. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) dismissed a government amnesty program as a "charade" and warned it would no longer limit its attacks on pipelines. "The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) will resume with attacks against the oil industry at the expiration of our ceasefire," the group said in an e-mail. The armed group had on July 15 declared a 60-day ceasefire, which it extended by 30 days on September 15. "MEND considers this next phase of our struggle as the most critical as we intend to end 50 years of slavery of the people of the Niger Delta by the Nigerian government, a few individuals and the western oil companies once and for all," the text said.