MILITANT GROUP DECLARE INDEFINITE CEASEFIRE

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militant group declared an "indefinite ceasefire" in the Niger Delta on 25 October 2009. MEND reinstated its ceasefire following a meeting between the group's former leader, Henry Okah, and President Umaru Yar'Adua, which, the group says, showed the government's "readiness to engage in serious and meaningful dialogue" to bring peace to the restive region. The declaration reverses earlier claims that MEND was planning to resume attacks on oil infrastructure and personnel after its earlier ceasefire expired on 16 October.