ISIS jihadists have taken hundreds of people hostage after a ferocious firefight with soldiers guarding Borno, sources told AFP.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), also known as Boko Haram, rolled into the town of Kukawa in the Lake Chad region in 22 trucks at around 4 pm on Tuesday.
‘The terrorists engaged soldiers guarding the town in a fierce battle,’ said Babakura Kolo, head of a local militia.
The people of Kukawa had only returned to their hometown two weeks ago after spending the last two years living in a refugee camp near the Borno State capital following a bloody attack on their settlement in November 2018.
They were provided with a military escort and ordered to leave the refugee camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, 120 miles away, by Borno State authorities on August 2.
A local 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”.
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