a truce has been declared by nigeria's most prominent militant group in the niger delta. the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta called a cease-fire after its leader was released from detention. they are also saying, though, military forces must withdraw to allow the displaced return home. it come days after the first attack outside of the delta. >> henry oca is a senior militant but does not control the whole movement. he admits he only accepted the amnesty terms to get treatment for his kidney and also problems. he doesn't think other commanders will lead down their arms for long. >> it depends on the government. those commanders and fighters -- amnesty means nothing. because the government doesn't know them. why will i come out? they are fighting for something. >> that something is the funneling of oil wealth into this desperately poor region and to repair environmental damage from the oil industry. >> you have some idealistic young people there who probably believe their ideologies that they are fighting for, the people of the delta. but, in fact, there a

but there is a conflict that goes on in the niger delta that tends not to get that much attention that is impacting oil production right now. >> marie pace, thank you very much for your insights. >> thank you very much. >>> now, let's turn to the war in afghanistan, where american and british forces have been suffering greater casualties as they step up their battle against the taliban. that war is weighing heavily on british public opinion as a new poll revealed today. the survey was commissioned by the independent newspaper and found that 58% think the war's unwinnable and 52% want british forces withdrawn immediately. with the casualties increasing, the british government is dealing with a conflict's question of compensation for the wounds of war. the question placing a value on catastrophic injuries and the complication that can result from those injuries. the test case involving two british servicemen is playing out in british court, as we hear tonight from jenny wibbel of itn. >> reporter: the every soldier killed in afghanistan around five are critically wounded. seven pers

the niger delta, where the oil is mine, has become a quagmire of corruption and conflict with oil smugglingnow out of control. the truncated limbs from sierra leone's civil war are just the most visible scars of the conflict fueled by the competition over the valuable diamond deposits. and these are coulter miners at the -- out of the democratic republic of congo the diamonds they extract are sold on a huge profit to companies that make mobile phones. global witness says that across the east of the diet -- of the prc, the congolese army and rebel groups compete for gold and other minerals, leaving civilians devastated in their wake. the minerals are sold to western companies through intermediaries. >> these companies are not doing enough to analyze their supply chain and interrogation they're coming from. we are not saying that they're doing anything illegal. that is an important point to make, but they're not doing the necessary due diligence to make sure that they are not buyingç minerals that have effectively come from this fighting. the largest tin producing company is owned by the bri

corruption and poverty have recruited many of themilitants in the troubled niger delta and now in the nor. there is kidnapping and killing in the dea, which has prompted the governme to reach out to rebels, th an amnty. meanwhile, it says thattacks of the last five days a an insurrecon, and is determined to show it will use all ans necessary to deal with this new threat -- a is determined. bbc ne. -- and it is determined it wi use all means necsary. >> emerncy rule was imposed two years ago by mharraf. the cot sayshe acted illegally when he suspend the nstitution to secure a second rm as president. fans and players areaying tribut to whatthe be loved and most respected siobby robson. he led them to finals twice. the in manchester -- the machester united che said he was unique. a ship has n aground off of t coast of norway. rescue crews a trying to siphon the oil from the wate it was carrying 1,120 tons of oil. it drifted into shallow waters during stormy conditions the former preside of the philippis, cazon aquino, has died at the age of 76. she led a prott ainst rdinand mcos. she the

the trade in stolen oil has led to violence and corruption in the niger delta, the home of the oil industryoor security and a shaky infrastructure continue to hamper increase production. and that is no lesser challenge for the president's government has the latest troubles in the north. >> amazingly different, those were the words today from the u.s. defense secretary robert gates, describing iraq after an official visit there. he praised the improved security situation after seeing how american troops are adapting to their new non-combat role. from the capital, gabriel gatehouse now reports. >> robert gates came to iraq to hear firsthand how the 130,000 u.s. soldiers still in iraq were adapting to their new supporting role in the country, taking their cues from the iraqi commanders, shifting their focus from combat training. >> and now in the end of 2011, when all u.s. troops are scheduled to depart iraq, we have a number of milestones to complete, including fair and free elections and the complete drawdown of u.s. forces leading to a change of mission beginning in august 2010. >> august 2

muslims and chistians doesn't tnd to impact the nger del but the is a confct that go on in the niger delta that tends not to get that much attention that is impacting oil production right w. >> marie pace, thank you very much for your insights. >> tnk you very much. >>> now, let's turn to the w inafghanistan, wre american and british forces have been sufferg greater casualts as they ste up their battle againsthe taliban. that war is wehing heavily on british public opini as a new poll revealed day. theurvey was cmissioned by thindependent newspaper and found that 58% tnk the war's unwinnable and 2% want briti forces thdrawn immediately. with the cualties increasing, the british goverent is dealing th a conflict's qution of compensation for the wounds of war. the queion placing a value on catastrophic iuries and the complication that can resul from those injuries. the tescase involving two british servicemeis plang out in btish court, as we hear tonight from jennyibbel of itn. >> reporter: the every soldier kill in ahanistan around five e critically woded. ven personnel areeing ralyzed, los

it has huge reserves of oil in the niger delta. but this wealth has not been dispersed around the country and it simply adds to the rumbling discontent which sparked the current violence. bbc news. >> lead to join our correspondent now who is in lagos. it may be nearing a close -- but certainly has been a bloody events, hasn't it? >> it certainly has. just the last hour or so we have been speaking to the colonel in charge of military operations. he has been greeting the bbc the route the entire military operation. -- raising the bbc. he said there were 1000 men hold up inside the compound. we said, do you still believe there are 1000 in there? a lot seem to have disappeared. melt away into residents of the strips around. . he said there were sure there were 1000 at the beginning and said that many young men were dead and surely they will start sending teams to look on the rooftops of the rubble and search through the building to try to start picking up corpses and figure out how many died. i said, how many you think dodd, and his w

rejolt, but at the same time, where else in nigeria, they've been reaching out to rebels in the niger delta. >> somehow, yeah. i think it's' mix of a lot of problems bedeviling them today, high unemployment rate and other things combined together, crisis here and there, the inability of the authorities to bring down the crime level, and inability of government to some extent to address some of the critical issues facing the country. some real, real issues that need to be tackled. >> thank you very much for joining us. let me just bring you breaking news this hour that we're getting out of iraq on news agencies from baghdad. we're being told that a string of bomb attacks have targeted muslim shiite worshipers as they emerged on friday. the news agency is saying that 10 people have been killed and 31 wounded. they're quoting officials. reuters is saying seven are dead and 15 are wounded. we'll bring you more on that, of course, as we get it. bbc.com is where you'll also find that breaking news and the background. jamie is now here with business news. >> this g.d.p. figure which we're expectin