Nigeria’s military has announced a truce with Islamist militants Boko Haram, and a deal for the release of 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.

The abduction sparked worldwide outrage and a social media campaign ‘#bring back our girls’.

They have remained in captivity for six months after being taken from a school in the northeast town of Chibok.

Marshal Alex Badeh announced the deal after three days of talks with the militant group, though Boko Haram have yet to comment.

A senior Nigerian security source said it remained unclear whether the government was negotiating with the self-proclaimed leader of the movement Abubakar Shekau or another faction.

Boko Haram have killed thousands of people during a five-year-long insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s north-east.