Another oil pipline blown up in Rivers state

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) reportedly blew up another oil pipeline in Rivers state on 17 September 2008. The pipeline, which was owned and operated jointly by Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Agip, was attacked at 0930 local time with hand grenades and explosives. The two energy companies have not yet stated what affect the attack will have on output. In a separate attack on 16 September, MEND and another Niger Delta militant group, the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDF), attacked the Royal Dutch Shell Orubiri flow station, also located in Rivers state. The attack occurred at 2200 local time. As in other attacks, the militants used speedboats to gain access to the facility and used grenades and explosives to damage the station. MEND reported that 10 security guards were killed in the attack, but these deaths have not yet been confirmed. The attack is the third incident at Shell targets within the past 48 hours. MEND announced on 14 September that it would begin an "oil war," nicknamed Hurricane Barbarossa, as a renewed effort to gain greater control of local natural resources.