American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Airstrikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has indicated additional military actions against IS targets in northwest Nigeria. This follows a short time after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Collaborative Effort

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

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria provided the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, then called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to partner with the Americans, to work with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africom said the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Violence in Northwestern Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate started when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

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

• Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
• 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 separate insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been numerous events of violence in Nigeria this year, with about 50% of them affecting civilians, according to research data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the hardest-hit regions.

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

Wider U.S. Foreign Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of American 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 military actions in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if additional actions would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”