American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional airstrikes against IS positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after U.S. military 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 president was clear last month: the murder of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Actions as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment came after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious 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 religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had spoken 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 said. “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 killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the operations in Sokoto state had been carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Conflicts between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their roots lie in disputes for resources.

• Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some specialists say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Data

There have been thousands of events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar stressed that the mission was about “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This action comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “foreign quagmires,” the initial period of this presidency has seen strikes in multiple countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties 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.”