InfoAnda - Exclusive: Nigeria starts mediated talks with Boko Haram |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Charlie Sheen in setback in lawsuit with Warner Bros | | 17 March 2011
Japan hints at economic action in South Korea island feud | | 21 August 2012
BP's year mixed amid volatile oil prices | 3 February 2009

Spidey heads to Broadway, with help from U2 pair | Entertainment | | 26 February 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Exclusive: Nigeria starts mediated talks with Boko Haram |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of February Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Santorum to Puerto Rico: Speak English if you want statehood 14 Mar 2012 Karzai asks NATO to leave Afghan villages; Taliban scrap talks | 12:07pm EDT Stars say "Hunger Games" movie violence justified | 9:07am EDT Citigroup failure in Fed test raises questions 14 Mar 2012 China leader's ouster could cloud succession plans | 8:37am EDT Discussed 179 U.S. serviceman detained in Afghanistan over civilian casualties 138 Israel asks U.S. for arms that could aid Iran strike 127 Sixteen Afghan civilians killed in rogue U.S. attack Watched Turkish soap operas ignite culture war in Middle East revolution – Decoder Thu, Mar 8 2012 Israeli army releases video of airstrike Sat, Mar 10 2012 Ex-Goldman trader starts condom revolution 6:00am EDT Exclusive: Nigeria starts mediated talks with Boko Haram Tweet Share this Email Print Factbox FACTBOX-What is Nigeria's Boko Haram? 10:25am EDT Analysis & Opinion Afghanistan : the creeping enemy within We are letting Assad win Related Topics World » 1 of 2. Clergymen gather around the coffins of the victims of the Christmas day bombing at St Theresa Catholic Church Madalla, during a mass funeral for the victims, outside Nigeria's capital Abuja February 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde By Joe Brock ABUJA | Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:25am EDT ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has in the last week held its first indirect peace talks with Islamist sect Boko Haram, meeting mediators to discuss a possible ceasefire, political and diplomatic sources told Reuters on Thursday. Two people close to Boko Haram have been carrying messages back and forth between the sect's self-proclaimed leader Abubakar Shekau and government officials, the sources, who asked not to be named, said. It was not clear whether any mediators met with President Goodluck Jonathan himself. A presidency spokesman said he could not immediately comment. Boko Haram has said it wants to impose sharia, or Islamic, law across a country split equally between Christians and Muslims. The group has killed hundreds this year in bomb and gun attacks, mostly in the majority Muslim north of Africa's top oil producer. "BH (Boko Haram) has mentioned a conditional ceasefire but it wants all its members released from prison. The government sees this as unacceptable but is willing to release foot soldiers," a traditional leader and civil rights activist involved in the talks told Reuters, asking not to be named. "It is the first time a ceasefire has been mentioned, so it is a massive positive, but given the lack of trust a resolution is still a way off," he added. Jonathan's national security adviser, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, told Reuters in January that Nigeria was considering making contact with moderate members of the shadowy Boko Haram via "back channels". A source at the presidency confirmed that efforts are being made to reach out to the sect's negotiators, but that direct talks had not yet begun. A well-respected Islamic cleric has been contacted to reach out to them, he said. Shekau has appeared in two video tapes posted on YouTube in January claiming leadership of the sect and making bellicose threats against security forces. Since then, however, Nigeria's military has made some key arrests and senior members of the sect have been killed, while the sophistication and scale of its attacks have fallen since a wave of deadly strikes from November to January. Two security sources said one of the people involved in the negotiations was a close ally of Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram who died in police custody in 2009, triggering a widespread violent uprising by the sect. They were both members of a group called the Spring Council of Sharia. Shekau has not said the group was interested in dialogue in his videos and neither has the group's spokesman, Abu Qaqa, who holds sporadic telephone interviews with local media in the sect's heartland of Maiduguri. But they have not ruled them out completely either. DIFFERENT FACTIONS Jonathan told Reuters in January that the government was open to dialogue but said sect members were hidden and therefore direct talks were unlikely. He noted that talks to resolve the conflict in the oil producing Niger Delta, that ended with an amnesty in 2009, were different in that officials knew who the militants' leaders were and how to contact them. Jonathan had previously drawn fire for treating Boko Haram as a purely security matter, rather than as a problem requiring a political solution that would address northern grievances. The military's efforts to stem the sect's insurgency have had mixed results in the past, with human rights groups saying heavy-handed tactics have worsened resentment of authorities. But more recently there have been arrests of senior figures and some have died in clashes with security forces, security sources say. They include Abu Qaqa, Nigeria's secret service have said, although a man claiming to be him phoned journalists to say it was another senior figure. The security services paraded five suspected members of Boko Haram on Wednesday before the press, who they said were behind the kidnapping of a Briton and Italian in May, adding that the ringleader had died in custody. The group has not managed to launch a wide scale, coordinated attack since one in Kano that killed 186 people in January, reverting to crude bomb attacks and drive by shootings. "I wouldn't say the back has been broken on Boko Haram but certainly these high profile arrests and deaths will have weakened its position," a foreign security expert in Abuja said. "The most telling sign is that we haven't seen the more sophisticated, coordinated attacks for some time." The group's factional nature means it will be difficult to negotiate any ceasefire deal with all elements. "The difficulty is: who do they actually represent? Boko Haram is a big label for many different command groups. Are they all being represented at these talks or just some of them?" said Peter Sharwood-Smith of security consultants Drum Cussac. "It's just really hard to know who's who ... and if these talks are going to achieve much." Shekau is believed to be in command of units carrying out the majority of attacks, most of which occur in the northeast. "Even though dialogue is going on with just one faction of the group, it looks like the most high profile one," a foreign diplomat specializing in security in northern Nigeria told Reuters. "Even some sort of peace deal would ease the pressure and allow the military to mop up more of the breakaway groups." (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in Lagos and Felix Onuah in Abuja; Editing by Tim Cocks) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 15 March 2012
Russia may give NATO a base for Afghan supply runs |
Greece presses charges over alleged '08 plot against PM |
Splits rattle Mexican ruling party before election |
Condition of Bahrain hunger striker seen worsening |
ST-Ericsson readies revamp, soon a takeover target |
SEC charges SharesPost, Felix over Facebook offerings |
Demographics, local tastes fuel Arab video game industry |
Novelist Atwood's debt treatise makes leap to film |
Charlize Theron adopts baby boy |
Oscar organizers set 2013 awards for February 24 |
Afghan dies from burns after airfield drama mars Panetta visit |
Syria marks anniversary of uprising, violence grows |
U.S.-Korea free trade pact takes effect amid controversy |
China removes top leadership contender Bo from post |
Cyclone Lua strengthens, approaches NW Australia |
Exclusive: Japan's Ozawa warns PM against pushing sales tax hike |
Refloating Italy ship wreck costs more than EUR 100 million: Boskalis |
Swiss couple held by Pakistan Taliban released |
Condition of Bahrain hunger striker seen worsening |
Samsung loses bid to ban iPhone, iPad sales in Netherlands |
Cisco to buy NDS for $5 billion: Israeli report |
Reshuffle at Japan's Sharp blunts expectation for change |
Nokia working on own tablet: design chief |
China's new microblogging rules to make Weibo more attractive |
China Mobile Q4 growth mild; hopes pinned on iPhone tie-up |
Demandware IPO prices above expected price range |
Obama, Cartoon Network target bullying in documentary |
Jonah Hill seeks a dramatic career change |
HBO drama Luck axed after deaths of horses |
A Minute With: Susan Sarandon on new film, single life |
Hague prosecutor seeks 30 years for Congo warlord |
Analysis: France's Hollande could be secret reformer |
Built by forced labor, German bunkers become homes |
Payments system SWIFT to cut off Iranian banks |
Seventy-five to stand trial in Egypt over soccer deaths |
Exclusive: Nigeria starts mediated talks with Boko Haram |
Swiss couple escape from Pakistan Taliban captivity |
Italian, British police arrest terrorism suspects |
Apple's 4G iPad debuts in Australia; stock soars |
China Mobile says aims to add 30 million 3G users this year |
Betty White tops, Tyler Perry drops in celebrity poll |
Stars say Hunger Games movie violence justified |
Darth Vader quits the Empire after Goldman resignation |
Book Talk: Deceit and espionage in darkest Luxembourg |
Next star authors could be found online |
Matilda musical leads with 10 Olivier nominations |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01