American Signals of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further military actions against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to end the killing of Christians.
“The president was explicit last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth posted on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful 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 joint ongoing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a non-religious 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. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Missions
Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africa Command confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out 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 criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Conflicts between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in disputes for resources.
- Priests and pastors have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
- A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct conflict mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing Unrest 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 “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Broader American Foreign Policy
This action comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the initial period of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
