US Issues Warning of Further Nigerian Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to halt 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 media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Actions as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader 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 almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before contacted 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 combat terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Context 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 ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.
- Priests and pastors have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
- 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 largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Violence and Statistics
There have been thousands of 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 emphasized that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider American Military Policy
This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several 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 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 ongoing.”