American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional strikes against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has characterized these efforts as part of a campaign to halt 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 platform. “The Pentagon 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 Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Missions
Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for authorization, and then 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 partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.
- Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
- A December 24th attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Violence and Data
There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half 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 mission was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Policy
This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces 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 responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”