Boko Haram militants have killed dozens of people in fresh attacks on villages in Borno state in northern Nigeria, the BBC has learnt.
A local member of parliament confirmed the attacks and said that at least five other villages had been targeted.
The Nigerian military has also denied reports that some of its men had been charged with helping the militants.
Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
Residents in the village of Attagara, close to the Cameroonian border, said that armed men ordered them into a church compound.
They said they were lead to believe the men were from the Nigerian military. Eyewitnesses said the men then opened fire on the crowd.
Nigerian MP Peter Biye told the BBC that there had been several similar attacks in the area and that many houses had been destroyed.
The government is under pressure to secure the release of schoolgirls abducted last month Boko Haram, the group accused of being behind the attacks, has been holding more than 200 schoolgirls captive since last month.
Court-martial denialOn Tuesday reports surfaced in the Nigerian media that 10 generals and five other senior military officers had been accused of helping Boko Haram.
Reports said the officers had faced a court-martial and had been found guilty of supplying arms and information to the militant group.
However, Nigerian army spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade categorically denied the reports, calling them "falsehoods" designed to do "maximum damage to the image of the Nigerian Army".
"There is no general of the Nigerian Army under any form of trial," he said in a statement.
However, the Interior Minister Abba Moro said it was "good news" that the military had identified the accused, and said it sent a strong message to other serving officers.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to treat the girls as slaves - Founded in 2002
- Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
- Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
- Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
- Some three million people affected
- Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
Why Nigeria has not defeated Boko Haram
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013 in the three northern states where Boko Haram is most active - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Boko Haram retaliated by stepping up its bombing campaign in cities and launching mass attacks on small towns and villages.
'Dozens killed' in Boko Haram attack
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