Targeting Oil Pipelines

Blasts hit two oil pipelines in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, Friday. An explosion first hit a 0.9 meter-diameter oil pipeline at about 6 p.m. and triggered an adjacent smaller pipeline to explode near Dalian Xingang Harbor. Both pipelines, owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), caught fire and more than 400 firefighters and 110 fire engines are working at the site. Blaze of the larger pipeline has been extinguished by 11:30 p.m. but more than 200 meters of the smaller one is still on fire as firefighters failed to turn off its oil pump. The government is sending special jets to transport fire foam for the campaign. An oil tank that was unloading oil in the harbor when the blast broke out had left the scene unharmed. The pipelines were links between oil ships and land tankers. Local authorities are investigating the incident.

Oil pipeline attacks are a major threat from terrorist and extremist groups that seek serious disruption and major media attention. The energy sector is one of the most critical to nations' critical infrastructure. Although the cause of the Chinese explosions have not been determined as terrorism based, the harm is the same. In early July an explosion and fire on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline halted the flow of at least 5,000 barrels of oil. Turkish officials said the pipeline would be back up and running quickly, however. No organization claimed responsibility for the explosion, though analysts say the incident bore the hallmarks of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Nihat Ozcan, an analyst with the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, told Turkish daily newspaper Today's Zaman that such events are capable of sending strong messages to the international community. "The financial cost of attacking the pipeline is minimal but still able to inflict much harm," he said. "Pipelines are easy targets."

• "Inside the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)", Council on Foreign Relations, 10/19/07.
• "Nigerian pipeline blast kills up to 200", USA Today, 5/12/06.
  

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Women 'scared into prostitution'

Young women and girls were subjected to bizarre rituals to scare them into a life of prostitution, an Irish court has heard. Some were shoved into coffins and witnessed chicken slaughter before they were trafficked from Nigeria and coerced into a large and lucrative prostitution ring run by a married couple. Irish-born Thomas Carroll, 48, and his South African wife Shamiela Clark, 32, ran a complex and organised prostitution business in Ireland, which earned more than one million euros in one year, Cardiff Crown Court, in Wales, was told.

Clark, who went by the name of Carmen, ran a "call centre" where she co-ordinated the brothels and took calls from clients, organised accommodation and placed adverts in newspapers, the court heard. Robert Davies, prosecuting, said the business used foreign sex workers "so they would not have homes to go to at night".

Most of the young women and girls, one aged just 15, came from South America and Nigeria, with many not knowing they would have to work as prostitutes to pay off the huge debts they were told they owed their traffickers. Women from Nigeria underwent "terrifying and humiliating" rituals involving menstrual blood, killing chickens and being pushed into a coffin "to put the fear of death in them", Judge Neil Bidder was told.

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Nigeria religious riots 'kill scores' in Jos

At least 149 people have been killed during two days of violence between Christian and Muslim gangs in the Nigerian city of Jos, officials say. Mosque workers and Muslim clerics told reporters of the deaths as they prepared for a mass burial. The death toll has not been verified independently and it is not known how many Christians have died. Nigeria's vice-president has ordered troops to help police restore order and also dispatched top security officials.

It is believed to be the first time Goodluck Jonathan has used executive powers since President Umaru Yar'Adua left Nigeria for hospital treatment in Saudi Arabia in November. The clashes broke out on Sunday and have continued since, with reports of gunfire and burning buildings. A 24-hour curfew has been enforced in the area, which has seen several bouts of deadly violence in recent years. At least 200 people were killed in an outbreak of fighting between Muslims and Christians in 2008, while some 1,000 died in a riot in 2001.

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Leading Nigeria oil rebel disarms

The last prominent militant in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region has given up his weapons after agreeing to a government amnesty deal. Government Tompolo, who heads the main rebel faction in the western Delta, disarmed in return for promises of cash and education for his fighters.

On Saturday, two other commanders from the eastern Delta laid down weapons. The amnesty is part of government efforts to end years of rebel attacks on the Nigerian oil industry. Militants there have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure, as well as kidnappings for ransom.

Mr Tompolo is considered one of the most important rebels figures in the oil-rich Delta. The rebel leader accepted President Umaru Yar'Adua's amnesty deal on Saturday, 24 hours before the offer expired.

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