Hundreds of hostages were taken by armed fighters in a northeastern Nigerian town where residents had just returned after fleeing their homes, residents and militia sources said Wednesday.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, a Boko Haram splinter faction, late Tuesday overran the town of Kukawa in Borno state, sources told the AFP news agency.

They seized residents who had returned to the city in a government operation on August 2, after spending almost two years in displacement camps, a local militia chief, Babakura Kolo, said.

"The terrorists yesterday struck the city in 22 trucks about 4:00 pm (16:00 GMT), and hired soldiers to guard the city in a heated battle," he said.

Residents of Kukawa had returned to their homes under military escort just 16 days earlier, on the orders of state authorities in Borno.

They had lived in camps in Maiduguri, a regional capital 180 km (120 miles ) away, where they fled in November 2018 following a bloody attack.



A town chief who accompanied the residents to the town said the people had returned with the hope of cultivating their farmlands "only to end up in the hands of the insurgents".

"We don't know what they would do to them but I hope they don't harm them," said the chief, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.