DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Nigerian militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, launched a bomb attack on the Delta State government house in the city of Warri Monday.
Agence France-Presse reported at 1024 GMT that a blast had rocked a ceremony held to mark an amnesty for former rebel fighters in the city. It wasn’t clear if there were any casualties.
MEND e-mailed a warning of the attack at 1013 GMT, saying the first of three explosive devices planted in the government compound would be detonated at 1030 GMT. The group also threatened further attacks against oil infrastructure in the region, singling out facilities operated by France’s Total SA (TOT) as targets.
“Operatives of MEND today March 15, 2010, successfully breached the security at the Delta state government house in Warri and planted three explosive devices in and around this compound,” the MEND statement said. It warned the government house and the neighboring school should be evacuated before the first detonation, but didn’t say when the other devices would explode.
The bomb targeted a conference organized by Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper, which was being hosted in the government compound, the e-mail said.
By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 15, 2010 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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