By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS (Reuters) - Militants in Nigeria's southern NigerDelta, whose campaign of sabotage has sharply cut the country'soil output, announced a ceasefire on Sunday but stopped shortof agreeing to participate in peace talks.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)declared the ceasefire just days after one of its most daringattacks so far, which forced Royal Dutch Shell to halt outputfrom its main Nigerian offshore oilfield, Bonga.
"Effective 12 midnight (2300 GMT) on Tuesday, June 24, MENDwill be observing a unilateral ceasefire in the Niger Deltaregion of Nigeria until further notice," the group said in ane-mailed statement.
"We are respecting an appeal by the Niger Delta elders togive peace and dialogue another chance," it said.
The bombing of oil pipelines and kidnapping of oil workersby MEND -- mostly in the labyrinthine creeks of the Niger Delta-- have cut Nigeria's oil output by at least a fifth in recentyears, helping drive world oil prices to record highs.
Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said on Sunday the world'seighth largest oil exporter was producing around 1.8 millionbarrels per day (bpd) before the latest attacks, less than twothirds of its 3 million bpd installed output capacity.
The announcement by MEND -- a loose coalition of armedgroups with an ill-defined leadership -- comes weeks before apeace summit called by President Umaru Yar'Adua's government.
Asked if the ceasefire meant it would take part in thesummit, MEND repeated in an e-mail to Reuters that it wouldonly do so if Henry Okah -- one of its suspected leaders who ison trial for treason and gun-running -- was allowed to attend.
No date has yet been announced for the summit and someanalysts doubt it will achieve much given the fragmented natureof the militants and the lack of a cohesive strategy amongNigeria's federal, state and local governments.
SECURITY TIGHTENED
Last Thursday's attack on Bonga, which lies some 120 km (75miles) from the Nigerian coast, was the first significantstrike on a deepwater facility in the country and shocked anoil industry which had thought such sites relatively secure.
It forced Shell to stop production at the field, which hasa nameplate capacity of 220,000 bpd, and to declare forcemajeure on Bonga exports for June and July, meaning it cannotguarantee to meet contractual obligations.
Nigeria's House of Representatives has called an emergencymeeting for Monday with the defence and oil ministers, nationalsecurity adviser and foreign oil firms to discuss the attack.
Yar'Adua has pledged a two-pronged approach in dealing withthe delta, promising to address the under-development of theregion, which lies at the root of the agitation, but alsosaying he will not tolerate the presence of armed militants.
He ordered the armed forces on Friday to bolster securityin the delta and hunt down those responsible for the Bongaattack.
In response, MEND warned expatriate oil workers to leavethe delta while it "settled its score" with the government,raising the prospect of an upsurge in violence in the region.
The group had called on Friday for local communities in thedelta to sabotage oil facilities and on Saturday congratulated"patriotic youths" who it said had blown up a pipeline operatedby U.S. oil firm Chevron last week.
The army said that attack had shut another 120,000 bpd ofoil production.
(Reporting by Nick Tattersall; editing by Jon Boyle)
