US Issues Warning of More Nigeria Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Speaks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.

The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated new military actions against ISIS strongholds in north-western Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces conducted operations against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has described these actions as part of a mission to end the killing of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was explicit previously: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is constantly prepared, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. There is more ahead … Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Top Diplomat Frames Strikes as Joint Operation

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement came after the former U.S. leader had previously accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to prevent Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Attacks against Christians has drawn attention from conservative groups in the United States, who describe it as religious persecution. Nigerian authorities have noted that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Intelligence and Coordination Preceding the Missions

Nigeria supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a local broadcaster. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and subsequently spoke with the American official again.

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

The U.S. military’s Africom confirmed the operations in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with local officials.

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Wooded areas in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of Islamic State – Sahel Province. Some analysts say this affiliate started when pastoralists joined together to combat 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 religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a separate conflict largely separate to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Unrest and Data

There have been numerous 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 “safeguarding Nigerians and civilians,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider U.S. Military Policy

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of American 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 multiple countries and a major deployment of forces in another region.

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest airstrikes. When questioned if more would follow, Tuggar replied: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is continuing.”