US Signals of More Nigerian Military Actions as Nigeria's Capital Talks of 'Collaborative Continuing Missions'.

The U.S. Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, has warned of further airstrikes against ISIS positions in north-western Nigeria. This follows hours after American forces took action against militant camps. The former president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a campaign to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The commander-in-chief was clear previously: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria needs to cease,” Hegseth wrote on a social media platform. “The Department of Defense is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Grateful for Nigerian government backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

The Nigerian Foreign Minister Describes Actions as Collaborative Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the American military actions were “part of collaborative continuing operations.” This comment followed after Trump had previously accused 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 sectarian targeting. Nigerian authorities have noted that armed groups target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Collaboration Behind the Airstrikes

Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence for the strikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar informed a television network. He detailed that he had consulted with his American opposite number, before called the Nigerian president for authorization, and subsequently conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively 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 fight terrorism, to end 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 concert with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Violence in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which is adjacent to Niger, have been used as hideouts by criminal groups and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate originated when herders 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 disputes for land and water.

• Clergy and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by financial motives than religious discrimination.
• A Christmas Eve attack at a mosque in north-east Nigeria killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Continuing Unrest and Data

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

Tuggar emphasized that the operation was about “safeguarding Nigerians and innocent lives,” not one religion. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not targeting any religion.”

Wider American Foreign Posture

This intervention occurs amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this administration. Despite running 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 major deployment of forces in another region.

No official from the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed if there were any fatalities in the latest 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 continuing.”