The Celebrity Truth

US actor and peace activist George Clooney, who has campaigned for refugees in Darfur and was recently named as a UN "messenger of peace", has been called upon by rebels in Nigeria to help them in their conflict with the government over oil wealth.

Rebels in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta have invited the actor to step into their conflict in an open letter, which was sent by email to the media.

A prominent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), asked Clooney to visit the impoverished wetlands region, which is home to Africa’s largest oil reserves.

"Mr Clooney, MEND extends an invitation to you to see things for yourself, and is willing to work with you and other credible peacemakers of international repute to stop Nigeria from plunging into the abyss of war," the letter said.

MEND fighters have bombed oil facilities and kidnapped foreign workers in their bid to secure regional control over the delta’s oil wealth. Their attacks since early 2006 have curbed Nigerian oil output by 20 percent, helping to drive world oil prices to record highs.

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Photo courtesy of Castle Rock.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.