US Issues Warning of More Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled new airstrikes against IS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.
“The president was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Collaborative Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment came after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Collaboration Behind the Missions
Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.
“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate started when pastoralists banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots 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 December 24th attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency mostly 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 affecting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”
Wider U.S. Foreign Posture
This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity 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 term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”