US Issues Warning of More Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.
The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled further military actions against ISIS targets in northwest 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 mission to halt the killing of Christians.
“The president was explicit previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Actions as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment followed after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious 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 Coordination Preceding the Missions
Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, then called the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, 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 Africa Command confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with local officials.
Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate originated when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in disputes for resources.
- Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
- A December 24th suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Ongoing Violence and Statistics
There have been thousands of incidents 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 hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar emphasized that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Policy
This action occurs 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 multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.
No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
