German hostages may walk free
2008-07-21 11:55
Abuja ? Nigeria's main militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta on Sunday it would seek the release of two German construction workers kidnapped by armed gunmen more that three weeks ago, Reuters report.
It was reported that the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has led a campaign of violence against oil facilities since early 2006, said it would intervene because the pair were not part of the energy sector but were working to help build the delta?s infrastructure.
"MEND has located and identified the culprits and will begin negotiating with the kidnappers in the hope for a safe and unconditional release of the captives," the group's spokesperson, who used the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo, said.
On July 11, unidentified gunmen kidnapped the two employees of Nigeria's biggest construction firm Julius Berger, a unit of Germany's Bilfinger Berger, near the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt.
About 15 gunmen ambushed the convoy of armoured jeeps by blowing one of the vehicles off the road with dynamite and killing a soldier.