American Warns of Additional Nigerian Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Operations'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new airstrikes against Islamic State positions in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after American forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth posted on a social platform. “The Pentagon is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. More to come … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a non-religious state with a population nearly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has garnered focus from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have noted that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Airstrikes

Nigeria provided the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then 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 partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to end the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Context of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is mostly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and predominantly Christian farming communities have been exacerbated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in disputes for land and water.

• Priests 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 attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest 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 mission was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Broader American Military Policy

This action occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning as a “candidate of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in several countries and a significant military buildup in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the recent 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.”