- President Trump confirms action in North-west, accuses group of attacking Christian communities
President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States (US) carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Nigeria’s North-West region on Thursday.
President Trump, who had spent weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians, wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”
According to the US military’s Africa Command, the strike was carried out in Sokoto state in coordination with the Nigerian authorities.
Also, an earlier statement posted by the Command on X said the strike had been conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, but that statement was later removed.
In his reaction, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful for Nigerian government support + cooperation”.
On its part, Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the Ministry said in a post on X.
Trump has previously said he would launch a “guns-a-blazing” US military intervention in Nigeria, claiming that the country’s government has been inadequate in its efforts to prevent attacks on Christians by Islamist groups.
Nigeria is officially a secular country but its population is almost evenly divided with claims in unofficial quarters putting the figures at Muslims (52 percent) and Christians (48 percent).
Violence against Christians has drawn significant international attention, especially among the religious right in America, and it has often been framed as religious persecution.
However, Nigeria’s government rejects framing the country’s violence in terms of religious persecution, saying in the past that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
But the government has previously agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant and other criminal groups operating in the country.
Many analysts say the situation is complex and has long roots in the region’s history. In some parts of the country, clashes between itinerant Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities are rooted in competition over land and water.
Priests and pastors have increasingly been kidnapped for ransom, but some experts say this may be a trend driven by criminal incentives rather than religious discrimination.
Trump, who positioned himself as the “candidate of peace” in 2024, campaigned on the promise of extraditing the US from decades of “endless wars”.
However his first year back in the White House has been notable for the number of military interventions overseas, with strikes on Yemen, Iran, Syria and others, as well as a huge military buildup in the Caribbean targeting Venezuela. – With The Guardian report
