The head of a panel set up to seek an amnesty deal with Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram voiced confidence Wednesday that members of the insurgent group could be brought into talks.
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The statement came as rescue workers deployed to the remote northeastern town of Baga, where the Red Cross says fierce gun battles killed 187 people.
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The military has disputed this figure, but the toll makes the Baga violence the deadliest-ever episode in the Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed thousands since 2009.
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President Goodluck Jonathan created the amnesty panel last week to study how a deal could be offered to the extremists.
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Jonathan has previously referred to Boko Haram as "ghosts" who could not be talked to.
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The group's purported leader Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States, has dismissed any idea of an amnesty deal with the government.