Gunmen attack oil security vessel

Unidentified gunmen attacked an oil security vessel off the coast of Akwa Ibom state on 5 February 2009. Reports indicate that a shootout between security guards and the militants took place after the gunmen gained access to Canada's Addax Petroleum oilfield at approximately 0300 local time. The security vessel's captain was reportedly killed in the gun battle and another crewmember was wounded. The attack comes after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) called off its unilateral ceasefire with the Nigerian military on 30 January and stated that it would launch a "sweeping assault" on foreign oil installations in retaliation for an attack on an affiliate militant group's camp. MEND had declared the ceasefire in September 2008 after a week-long "oil war" that forced many oil companies to cut or suspend production.