US Warns of More Nigeria Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against IS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a mission to halt the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth posted on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Operation
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Collaboration Preceding the Missions
Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to work 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 local officials.
Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups 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 predominantly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.
- Priests and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
- A December 24th attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Violence and Statistics
There have been numerous incidents 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 hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Broader American Foreign Posture
This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.
Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”
