American Signals of More Nigeria Strikes as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The American Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further military actions against ISIS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes a short time after U.S. military forces took action against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has described these efforts as part of a mission to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” the defense secretary posted on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Top Diplomat Describes Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after Trump had earlier alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is officially a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have pointed out that militants attack both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He explained that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before contacted the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “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 blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

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

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch originated when pastoralists joined together to combat bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

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

• Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate insurgency 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 50% of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

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

Wider U.S. Foreign Posture

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. 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 military actions in several countries and a significant deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When asked if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a fresh chapter of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”