Islamist group Boko Haram attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, reports say, killing at least 29 people in the latest of a series of deadly attacks on civilians.
A lawmaker told the BBC the group attacked the Borno state town of Mafa, causing government forces to flee.
Nearly 150 people in Borno have died from clashes between Boko Haram and government troops since Friday, according to the BBC.
Last Tuesday the group killed 29 students when they raided and burned down a secondary school in the northeast state of Yobe. Thousands more have died at the hand of Boko Haram since its campaign for an Islamic state began in 2009.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sinful," warned Mafa residents a week ago that it planned to attack. Locals closed schools and relocated to Maiduguri city, located 28 miles away, the BBC reported. Soldiers fled, too.
"When the attack took place, all of them ran away, along with the villagers," Ahmad Zannah, a Borno state senator, told the BBC. "There was no resistance."
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared Borno in a state of emergency, as well as two other states, the BBC reported. The declaration allows the military to take extra measures to stop the militants.
BBC correspondent Will Ross said Boko Haram has now increased the number of attacks, killing civilians almost every day.
Another attack on Saturday killed 50 people when two bombs exploded in Maiduguri.
But critics say the military is not doing enough to curb Boko Haram's attacks, and are even carrying out civilian killings.
Ali Ndume, another Borno state senator, told the BBC that a military air raid on the village of Daglun left 20 people dead on Friday.
The defense ministry said reports of the air raid deaths are false.
"The reports are believed to be part of the design by those bent on discrediting the counter-terrorist mission," Chris Olukoladehe, defense ministry spokesman, told AFP.
