🔗 Share this article US Signals of Additional Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'. The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians. “The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Foreign Minister 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 comment came after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed. Nigeria is constitutionally a secular 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. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims. Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Missions Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke 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 fight terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials. Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for resources. Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination. A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Data There have been numerous 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 stressed that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region. Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians. “The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary stated on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Foreign Minister 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 comment came after the former U.S. leader had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed. Nigeria is constitutionally a secular 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. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims. Intelligence and Collaboration Behind the Missions Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke 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 fight terrorism, to end the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.” The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials. Background of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this IS branch started when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Clashes between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for resources. Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination. A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Data There have been numerous 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 stressed that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region. Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”