US Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.
The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional strikes against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to halt the killing of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Operation
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent 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 conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes
Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, 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 work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with local officials.
Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate originated when herders joined together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources.
- Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
- 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 distinct insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Violence and Data
There have been thousands of events 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 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.”
Broader American Military Posture
This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term 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 fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”
