LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta say they attacked an oil pipeline overnight, breaking a cease-fire agreement with the government.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in the a statement issued Saturday that its members attacked a major crude oil pipeline operated by Shell and Chevron.
Spokesman Jomo Gbomo says in the statement that the group attacked because government officials delayed ongoing peace talks over the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua.
For weeks, Yar'Adua has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia for what staffers say is a serious heart condition.
The group says "a situation where the future of the Niger Delta is tied to the health and well-being of one man is unacceptable."
