American Signals of Additional Nigerian Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Collaboration Behind the Missions
Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.
“We have been collaborating extensively 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 end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate started when herders joined together to fight 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 core causes lie in competition for land and water.
- Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
- A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency largely separate 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 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 innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Policy
This action occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a significant military buildup in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest 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.”
