The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is an active terrorist group that uses violent means to support the rights of the ethnic Ijaw people in the Niger Delta. In contrast to the healthy profit margins enjoyed by foreign oil companies operating in Nigeria, most Nigerians in the Delta region live in poverty, and many feel that they are being neglected by the government. These conditions have led to the proliferation of local terrorist groups, which at last count, numbered around 120. Of these organizations, MEND is one of the largest, and it works closely with other militant groups, coordinating and conducting joint operations. Notably, MEND has joined forces with the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), the Coalition for Militant Action in the Niger Delta, and the Martyrs Brigade to form the strongest anti-foreign oil terrorist alliance in the region.<br /><p><br />Led by a notoriously shadowy and secretive elite cadre, MEND's ultimate goal is to expel foreign oil companies and Nigerians not indigenous to the Delta region from Ijaw land. In the short run, the group wishes to increase local control over money made from the exploitation of the region's abundant natural resources. For instance, the organization recently pressured the government to demand the payment of $1.5 billion from Shell Oil for damage done to the local environment. MEND also wants the central government to provide basic services such as running water to the region and increase government investment in the area's infrastructure. Finally, MEND wishes to secure the release of imprisoned Ijaw advocates Alhaji Dokubo-Asari, a leader of NDPVF, and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former governor of Bayelsa State.<br /><p><br />MEND's tactics have evolved from crude kidnapping-for-ransom operations into more sophisticated and effective methods that combine actions such as hostage-taking and bombings with the effective use of local and increasingly international media propaganda campaigns. MEND bombings usually target key points in oil pipelines and facilities in the Delta to maximize disruption and cost to foreign oil companies. A recent car bomb attack on an urban military barracks in Port Harcourt, the regional capital, is an example of the growing diversity of MEND's methods and targets and reflects growing frustration with what the Ijaw perceive to be government indifference to their plight.<br />