Nigeria's military has ruled out any ceasefire with Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), saying operations against the Islamist groups will continue.

Major-General Samaila Uba, the director of defence information, made the position clear on Thursday at an intelligence briefing in Abuja. "I want to make it clear that there is nothing like a ceasefire," he said. "Considering the successes recorded across our operations, it is clear that we are not relenting."

The denial follows a report by The New Humanitarian in September alleging that the government had reached a secret truce with a faction of Boko Haram led by Bakura Doro, said to have been in place since June and linked to relative calm in parts of the north-east. The military has now publicly rejected that account.

Operations figures for September and October

To support its position, Defence Headquarters presented operational figures covering September and October. It said troops carried out 588 security operations, in which 435 terrorists and bandits were killed, 809 suspects were arrested, 198 insurgents surrendered and 717 kidnapped people were rescued. The figures are the military's own account and have not been independently verified.

Reuters reported that attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP on military positions in the north-east have surged in recent weeks, despite years of operations against the insurgency, which is now in its 17th year. Uba also said Nigeria was in talks with neighbouring Sahel states that have left the West African bloc ECOWAS on security and diplomatic cooperation.

The military said operations would continue until the activities of the armed groups were brought under control, and that offensives also targeted kidnappers and other criminal networks across the country.