American Signals of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional strikes against IS positions in northwest Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to halt the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Effort
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment 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 secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes
Nigeria provided the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before called 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 long desired, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop 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 coordination with local officials.
Context of Conflict 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 analysts say this affiliate originated when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.
Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in competition for land and water.
- Priests and pastors have been increasingly kidnapped for ransom, though some experts 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 conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.
Continuing 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 most affected regions.
Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider American Military Posture
This action occurs amid a wider pattern of American engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the first year of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.
Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed 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.”
