American Warns of Further Nigerian Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Ongoing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional airstrikes against ISIS positions in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces launched strikes against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” the defense secretary stated on a social media platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Thankful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve long desired, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes 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 ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate originated when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Conflicts between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for land and water.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a distinct conflict largely unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

There have been numerous incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half 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 “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader U.S. Military Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this administration. Despite running as a “candidate of peace” who promised to withdraw 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 revealed if there were any casualties in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”