Negotiations are taking place to free as many as 100 foreign workers who are being held captive on four separate oil rigs off the Nigerian coast.
Local employees took control of the platforms in deep water south of the Niger Delta, after some of their colleagues were sacked, but their specific demands remain unclear. The siege has been going on for more than a week but has only recently come to public attention. The nationalities of those being held has not been officially released, but it is believed there are 35 Britons and 21 Americans among them. The striking workers have refused to negotiate with their own union, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (Nupeng). Full Story