🔗 Share this article American Signals of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'. The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new strikes against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to end the killing of Christians. “The president was explicit last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked 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 secular 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 Collaboration Behind the Missions Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then 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 work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities. Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when pastoralists banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim. Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for resources. Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred. A Christmas Eve suicide bombing 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 Unrest and Statistics There have been thousands of incidents 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 most affected regions. Tuggar stressed that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in several 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 more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”
The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of new strikes against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to end the killing of Christians. “The president was explicit last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked 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 secular 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 Collaboration Behind the Missions Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then 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 work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to end the killing of blameless Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.” The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in concert with Nigerian authorities. Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when pastoralists banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim. Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their roots lie in competition for resources. Priests and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred. A Christmas Eve suicide bombing 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 Unrest and Statistics There have been thousands of incidents 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 most affected regions. Tuggar stressed that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.” Broader U.S. Foreign Policy This intervention occurs amid a broader pattern of U.S. military engagement overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in several 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 more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”