American Warns of More Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.
The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional airstrikes against ISIS targets in northwest 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 mission to stop the killing of Christians.
“The president was clear last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of failing 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 religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.
Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch originated when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a lack 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 core causes lie in competition for resources.
- Priests and pastors have increasingly been taken hostage, 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 killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Unrest and Data
There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half 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 mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Military Policy
This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen military actions in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
