American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Talks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.
The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new military actions against IS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces conducted operations against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.
Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Missions
Nigerian authorities provided the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then conferred 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 work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the strikes in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Context 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 ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch started when herders banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.
- Priests and pastors 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 mostly unrelated 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 50% 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 “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Broader U.S. Foreign Policy
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 “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen military actions in several 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 asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
