Dozens killed in Nigeria 'ceasefire' with Boko Haram militants
Witnesses say Boko Haram was behind deadly attacks but government and militants blame gangs as officials work on deal to free schoolgirls
Suspected Boko Haram militants have killed dozens of people in five attacks on Nigerian villages that occurred after the government announced a ceasefire to enable 200 abducted girls to be freed, security sources and witnesses said.
However, the government cast doubt on whether the attacks were Boko Haram or several criminal groups exploiting the insurgency. A spokesman said talks to free the girls would continue in Chad today.
The fresh attacks dashed hopes for an easing of the northeast's violence, although officials remained confident they could negotiate the release of girls whose abduction by the rebels in the remote northeastern town of Chibok in April caused outpourings of international shock and outrage.
A presidency official and another government source said they were aiming to do this by tomorrow.
Boko Haram, which translates roughly as "Western education is sinful", has massacred thousands in a struggle to carve an Islamic state out of religiously mixed Nigeria, whose southern half is made up mainly of Christian believers.
Nigeria's armed forces chief Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh announced the ceasefire on Friday. On Saturday, two senior government sources said it aimed to secure the girls' release as early as today or tomorrow, although they declined to give further details.
In the first attack, suspected insurgents attacked the village of Abadam on Friday night, killing at least one person and ransacking homes, while another assault on Dzur village on Saturday left at least eight people dead.