American Issues Warning of More Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled new strikes against ISIS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with local officials.
Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.
- Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
- A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Violence and Data
There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider American Military Posture
This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”