US Warns of More Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.
The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional strikes against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Joint Operation
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes
Nigeria supplied the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.
“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate originated when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Conflicts between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in disputes for resources.
- Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
- A Christmas Eve 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 largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Unrest and Statistics
There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.
Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Broader American Military Posture
This action comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
