President Donald Trump has said the US launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria.
The US leader described IS as ” terrorist scum”, accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists”, and it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.
Tuggar did not rule out further strikes, saying this depended on “decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries”.
In his post on Truth Social late on Thursday, Trump said that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”.
In November, Trump ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation”.
“Merry Christmas!” he added, writing on X. The US Department of Defense later posted an unclassified short video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a military vessel.
On Friday morning, the Nigerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the country’s authorities “remain engaged in structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorist and violent extremism.
Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC at the time that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.
Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a “sovereign” country.
President Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people “across faiths and regions”.
Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population.
He said “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence. This is a designation used by the US state department that provides for sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom”.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people; however, most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.
In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.
Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides.
Human rights groups say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.
Last week, the US said it had carried out a “massive strike” against IS in Syria. The US Central Command (Centcom) said fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria”. Aircraft from Jordan were also involved.
BBC
