US Warns of Further Nigerian Strikes as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Operations'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has signaled additional airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces launched strikes against insurgent bases. The former president Donald Trump has framed these actions as part of a campaign to stop the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was clear previously: the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth posted on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, stated on Friday that the American military actions were “part of joint ongoing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had previously alleged Nigeria’s government of failing to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has garnered focus from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as sectarian targeting. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the information for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a local broadcaster. He explained that he had spoken with his American opposite number, before contacted the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke 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 work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians … It’s a joint effort.”

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

Background of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some observers say this IS branch started when herders banded together to combat bandits due to a lack of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Conflicts between pastoralists and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by ethnicity and religion, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and injured dozens more, in a separate conflict mostly separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

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 hardest-hit regions.

Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a collaborative mission,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider U.S. Foreign Policy

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity 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 several countries and a significant 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 questioned if more would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an long-standing struggle. For us it is something that is continuing.”