US Issues Warning of Further Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new military actions against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after American forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.
“The president was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack 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, then contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred 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 work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in disputes for resources.
- Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, 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 injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing 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 hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Policy
This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of American activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
