American Signals of Further Nigerian Military Actions as Abuja Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has characterized these actions as part of a campaign to stop the slaughter of Christians.
“The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” 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 Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”
Nigeria's Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Operation
Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint continuing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.
Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have noted that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.
Information and Coordination Behind the Airstrikes
Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and then spoke with the American official again.
“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”
The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with Nigerian authorities.
Background of Violence in North-West Nigeria
Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate started when herders joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.
Clashes between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.
- Clergy and religious leaders have been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
- A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely 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 50% of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.
Tuggar stressed that the mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”
Wider U.S. Military Policy
This action occurs amid a broader pattern of American engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning 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 multiple countries and a significant military buildup in another region.
No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”
