US Signals of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional airstrikes against Islamic State positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigerian authorities 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 collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out 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 hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate started when herders joined together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.
- Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly 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 distinct conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Unrest and Statistics
There have been numerous events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Broader U.S. Foreign Posture
This action occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this period. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
