🔗 Share this article American Warns of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'. The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against IS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians. “The president was explicit previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed. Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims. Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke with the American official again. “We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities. Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when herders joined 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 land and water. Clergy and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination. A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Data There have been thousands of incidents 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 stressed that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region. No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against IS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to stop the slaughter of Christians. “The president was explicit previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Operation Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed. Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims. Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke with the American official again. “We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities. Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch originated when herders joined 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 land and water. Clergy and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination. A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Data There have been thousands of incidents 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 stressed that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region. No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”