US Warns of Further Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against ISIS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has characterized these efforts as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.
“The president was clear previously: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing 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 secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Missions
Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke 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 partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials.
Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when pastoralists banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.
- 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 distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Unrest and Statistics
There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Broader U.S. Foreign Policy
This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.
Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
