The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on July 6 blew up a Chevron platform in Okan that accounts for 80% of the company's offshore operations Nigeria's south. A MEND statement said the attack was carried out by the militant group's "Hurricane Moses" team "in retaliation" for the "abduction of a traditional chief" by Nigeria's Joint Task Force. MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said, "as long as the government and the JTF choose to carry out kidnappings and arson against innocent communities and individuals, Moses will fight for them."

David Montero blogs for the Christian Science Monitor June 24 that "as in Pakistan, many are looking to armed tribes in Somalia who adhere to Sufism—a mystical, moderate interpretation of Islam—as the best chance for peace." The post, entitled "Is promoting Sufi Islam the best chance for peace in Somalia?", quotes a Somali writer—identifying himself only as Muthuma—who writes on the Bartamaha news portal that (as we've noted) a "new axis" of conflict is emerging in Somalia, in which fighters are battling one another along religious lines:

A sharia court run by Somalia's Shabab insurgents in Mogadishu sentenced four teenagers to each have a hand and a leg amputated as punishment for robbery June 22. A sharia judge in an insurgent-controlled area of the capital said the defendants had "robbed mobile phones and people's belongings." The Shabab have instated a strict interpretation of Islamic law in territory they control, and have carried out stonings, floggings and amputations before. Amnesty International condemned the sentence, saying the defendants had no lawyer and had not been allowed to appeal. (Reuters, June 22)

Three attacks were made on Royal Dutch Shell oil facilities in a remote area of Nigeria's Niger Delta June 21. A company spokesman refused to speculate on who was behind the attacks, but the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had attacked an offshore facility earlier that day and that "the structure is...engulfed in fire." MEND claimed June 19 that it destroyed a pipeline owned by the Italian gas company Agip, and earlier in the week claimed to have destroyed Shell's main trunk line in Bayelsa state as well as a Chevron oil installation in the Delta region. Shell confirmed an attack on that pipeline. Chevron, which halted its onshore operations in the region last month, said it was investigating. Last month, MEND declared an "all-out war" on the government after what it said was a deadly bombing raid on civilians. (CNN, June 21)

Ethiopian troops have reportedly crossed into Somalia after the transitional government there made a plea for foreign forces to help battle insurgents. Somalia's parliamentary speaker made the request June 20 after several days of heavy fighting in the north of the capital, Mogadishu. "The government is weakened by the rebel forces. We ask neighboring countries—including Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen—to send troops to Somalia within 24 hours," Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur AKA "Madobe." Echoing remarks made by Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in recent days, Madobe says the government is fighting al-Qaeda, which has established bases in Somalia and is determined to take over the country.

North Sudan has been accused of providing arms that were used to attack barges carrying UN food aid. A governing party leader in South Sudan told the BBC arms were being distributed in the south to spread dissent between rival ethnic groups. Pagan Amum, secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, told the BBC's Focus on Africa program Khartoum wanted to destabilize the region before a referendum on southern independence due in 2011.

Nigeria's Ogoni people are divided over Shell Oil's agreement to pay $15.5 million as an out-of-court settlement rather than face a trial over accusations that it was complicit in rights abuses in the Niger Delta in the 1990s. The families of nine people executed in 1995—including famed writer writer Ken Saro-Wiwa—accused Shell of collaborating with the military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha to silence the activists for protesting against the oil company's environmental practices.

Our May issue featured "The Voice of Free Somaliland," an interview with Dr. Saad Noor, North American representative of the Republic of Somaliland—a stable, secular de facto independent country in what is known in the media (none too accurately) as "Somalia." Our May Exit Poll was: "Did you know before you read it here that one-third of Somalia is a peaceful independent republic, Somaliland? If not, will you please make a small donation to help keep us alive?" We received three responses (which we hope does not indicate that we have only three readers). The results follow: