🔗 Share this article US Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'. The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional airstrikes against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to end the killing of Christians. “The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Operation Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump 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. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims. Information and Coordination Preceding the Missions Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again. “We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop 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 local officials. Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water. Clergy and religious leaders 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 injured dozens more, in a separate conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Statistics There have been numerous 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 hardest-hit regions. Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Wider U.S. Military Policy This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity 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 term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region. Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”
The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional airstrikes against IS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a campaign to end the killing of Christians. “The commander-in-chief was explicit last month: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!” The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Operation Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of joint continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump 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. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims. Information and Coordination Preceding the Missions Nigeria provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again. “We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop 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 local officials. Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this IS branch started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim. Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water. Clergy and religious leaders 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 injured dozens more, in a separate conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west. Continuing Violence and Statistics There have been numerous 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 hardest-hit regions. Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.” Wider U.S. Military Policy This intervention comes amid a broader pattern of U.S. military activity 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 term has seen military actions in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region. Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is ongoing.”