President Donald Trump announced that the United States had carried out a “powerful and deadly strike” against Islamic State (IS) militants in north-western Nigeria. He condemned IS as “terrorist scum,” accusing the group of “viciously targeting and killing innocent Christians.” Trump praised the US military for delivering “numerous perfect strikes.” The US Africa Command (Africom) later confirmed that Thursday’s operation was conducted in partnership with Nigerian forces in Sokoto State. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, told the BBC it was a “joint operation” against “terrorists,” emphasising that it was not directed at any particular religion.
Without directly naming IS, Minister Tuggar stated that the operation had been in preparation “for quite some time” and relied on intelligence provided by Nigeria. He did not dismiss the possibility of further strikes, noting that future actions would depend on “decisions taken by the leadership of both countries.” In a post on Truth Social late Thursday, President Trump declared that “under my leadership, our nation will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.” Back in November, Trump had directed the US military to prepare for operations in Nigeria against Islamist militant groups.
He did not say at the time which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria’s Christians have been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles. Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation”.
“Merry Christmas!” he added, writing on X.
The US Department of Defense later posted a short video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a military vessel. On Friday morning, the Nigerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the country’s authorities “remain engaged in structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorist and violent extremism.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the statement said. Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC at the time that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together. Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a “sovereign” country. He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none.
President Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people “across faiths and regions”. Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population. He said “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence.
This is a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom. Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect people of all faiths.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people; however, most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.
In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture. Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides.
Human rights groups say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted. Last week, the US said it had carried out a “massive strike” against IS in Syria. The US Central Command (Centcom) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria”. Aircraft from Jordan were also involved.
credit: BBC
