American Warns of Additional Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled further airstrikes against IS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.
“The president was explicit previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes
Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then spoke 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 end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when herders banded together to combat 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 communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in disputes for land and water.
- Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
- A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Unrest and Statistics
There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Posture
This action occurs amid a broader pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
