Some 3,000 people began returning to their homes and deserted farms in the northeast Nigerian state of Borno on December 1, six years after fleeing jihadist violence and despite a weekend massacre that underscored the security risks they still face.

And adding to their troubles, officials there warned of a looming food crisis, caused at least in part by the deadly attacks on farm workers.

They boarded dozens of trucks and buses at their camp in the state capital Maiduguri to travel some 130km to their home area of Marte, once considered the breadbasket of the Lake Chad region.

“I’m very happy to return to my roots which I left six years ago,” returnee Bukar Kyarimi told AFP. “We need to go back and tend our abandoned farms but we hope the government will give us adequate protection from the insurgents.”

“We are eager to go back to our homes but what happened in Koshobe . . . is frightening,” said another returnee.

The operation came after an attack November 28 on the village of Koshobe and nearby communities killed dozens of farm workers in one of the deadliest assaults this year blamed on Islamist militants.

The precise death toll of the massacre was unclear, but 43 victims of the attack were laid to rest on November 29 in a mass burial attended by Borno state governor Babaganan Umara Zulum, who said at least 70 people perished in the massacre.

Both the Islamic State-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province and rival group Boko Haram have been blamed for increasing attacks on civilians that they accuse of spying for the army and pro-government militia.

In a statement, UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria Edward Kallon said November 28’s massacre was “unfortunately one of too many such attacks targeting farmers, fishermen and families who are trying to recover some livelihood opportunity after over a decade of conflict.

“Helping them to farm land and rebuild livelihoods are amongst our priorities and the only way to avoid the looming food crisis in Borno state.”

December 1’s return was of a first batch of internally displaced person (IDPs) from Marte, the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said in a statement.

Governor Zulum pledged to return all of some two million IDPs to their homes, despite concern from aid agencies for their safety.

He said it was no longer financially viable to house people in camps protected by soldiers and totally reliant on food handouts from humanitarian groups.