Nigeria seeking Boko Haram talks

31 July 2011 Last updated at 01:15 GMT Boko Haram said it attacked Nigeria's police headquarters last month Nigeria's government says it wants to start negotiating with Islamist group Boko Haram, which has been blamed for a series of recent attacks.

The government said a panel would open talks with the group and report back by 16 August.

There was no immediate reaction to the statement from Boko Haram.

The group, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden", is fighting to topple the government and create an Islamic state.

It led an uprising across a number of states in northern Nigeria in 2009, during which hundreds were killed.

In recent weeks it has been blamed for a series of bombings and shootings in Nigeria's north-east.

The government statement said President Goodluck Jonathan had appointed seven people, including the ministers of defence and labour, to a negotiation committee.

It said the panel's role would be to act "as a liaison between the federal government ... and Boko Haram and to initiate negotiations with the sect".

It would also work with Nigeria's national security adviser to ensure that security forces acted with "professionalism", the statement added.

The governor of the Nigerian state of Borno has admitted that the army has been guilty of excesses during operations to counter Boko Haram.

Most of Boko Haram's recent attacks have been carried out in the Borno city of Maiduguri.

It also claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of the police headquarters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, last month.

The negotiation panel is to be inaugurated on Tuesday.

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More soldiers seeking redundancy

18 June 2011 Last updated at 00:10 GMT The Army has been inundated with requests for voluntary redundancy There has been a surge in applications for redundancy in the Army, figures obtained by the Daily Telegraph show.

The overall size of the Army is due to fall by 7,000 from a current strength of around 100,000 soldiers.

In April the Army said it would make 1,000 soldiers redundant, hoping half of those would be voluntary, but has in fact had 900 applications.

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says this will fuel concerns that the brightest and best may leave.

The Army is seeking redundancies as part of its reaction to the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which came out in October.

It demanded cuts in numbers in the Army, Royal Navy and RAF.

Among the 900 who have volunteered to leave are several officers who were earmarked for promotion - including two tipped to be future generals - and a number of experienced NCOs.

Colonels queuing up

A total of 52 colonels have applied for the 25 redundancies offered at that level.

Five SAS officers have also chosen to leave, according to the Telegraph.

The Army Families Federation has already warned of low morale.

But an Army spokesman said it was working to ensure it had the right balance of experience to maintain its commitments for the future.

The Telegraph claims the head of the Army, General Sir Peter Wall, held informal interviews with some officers to discourage them from seeking redundancy.

One anonymous officer who is seeking voluntary redundancy told the Telegraph: "When you know what's going on at the moment and the amount of money that's needed to be saved and the impact of that on the Army, what's the point of staying?

"People are seeing the writing on the wall and are saying it's time to go," he added.

An infantry commander told the Telegraph: "I have never known morale quite so shocking. People see the way it's going. There's a real fear of further cuts in 2015."

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