American Warns 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 targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a mission to halt the killing of Christians.
“The president was clear last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth stated on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader 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 conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Collaboration Behind the Missions
Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed 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 collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in disputes for land and water.
- Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives 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 distinct insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Violence and Data
There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them targeting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Broader U.S. Military Posture
This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion 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 significant military buildup in another region.
Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the latest 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 ongoing.”
