US Warns of More Nigeria Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.
The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new strikes against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated 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 prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a secular 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. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently conferred 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 combat terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.
Background of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.
- Clergy and pastors have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
- 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 distinct insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Violence and Data
There have been thousands of events 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 operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Broader American Foreign Posture
This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.
Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When asked 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.”
