American Signals of More Nigeria Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Operations'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional strikes against ISIS targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a campaign to stop the killing of Christians.

“The president was explicit last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” Hegseth stated on a social platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, 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 Effort

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

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

Information and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had consulted with his American opposite number, then called 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 partner with the Americans, to cooperate with other countries, to fight terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in concert with local officials.

Context of Conflict in Northwestern Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some analysts say this affiliate originated when pastoralists banded together to fight bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly 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 been increasingly taken hostage, though some specialists say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Violence and Data

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

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

Broader American Foreign Policy

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of American activity overseas during this administration. Despite campaigning 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. nor Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any casualties in the recent airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”