Yahoo! News - Nigeria Women Agree to End Standoff

Monday's deal signaled an end to the weeklong takeover, which featured a typical tactic with a new twist: Young men frequently resort to kidnapping in the oil-rich Niger Delta, but the peaceful, all-women protest was unprecedented.

The unarmed women, some with babies bound to their backs, sang and danced on the docks at the ChevronTexaco facility when they learned the company had offered to hire at least 25 villagers and to build schools and other amenities. But they said they would wait until the verbal agreement was put in writing and signed before leaving the Escravos facility.