American Issues Warning of Additional Nigerian Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Missions'.
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against IS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth posted on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Actions as Collaborative Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement came after Trump had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population nearly divided 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 pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes
Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, 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 end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.
Context of Conflict in North-West 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 affiliate originated when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.
Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.
- Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
- A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Unrest and Statistics
There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Posture
This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this presidency has seen military actions in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties 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 continuing.”
