American Issues Warning of Additional Nigeria Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Continuing Missions'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has warned of additional military actions against Islamic State targets in north-western Nigeria. This comes a short time after American forces took action against militant camps. The ex-president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to halt the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria has to stop,” Hegseth posted on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This comment came after the former U.S. leader had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular 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 frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that armed groups attack both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Behind the Missions

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

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

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

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

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

• Priests and pastors have been increasingly taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A December 24th attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Statistics

There have been thousands of events 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 “protecting Nigerians and civilians,” not one religion. “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 U.S. military engagement overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to extricate the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this term has seen strikes in multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

No official from 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 new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”