US President Donald Trump has warned that he could order more airstrikes on Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed in the West African nation.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, Trump was asked about the Christmas Day strikes in Nigeria's northern Sokoto state, targeting Islamist militants. 'I'd love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians it will be a many-time strike,' he said.
Nigeria's government has rejected Trump's earlier accusations that it is failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks, asserting that 'Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike' are targeted.
Claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians began circulating last year in right-wing US circles, but organizations monitoring political violence in Nigeria state that most victims of jihadist groups are Muslims. When questioned about this in the interview, Trump replied: 'I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it's mostly Christians.'
Nigeria's population, over 230 million, is roughly evenly split between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north. The country has faced a devastating Islamist insurgency led by groups like Boko Haram and other factions aligned with the Islamic State over the last 15 years.
The US's Christmas Day strikes hit two camps run by Lakurawa, a jihadist group in the predominantly Muslim state of Sokoto, near the border with Niger. Casualty figures remain unclear since neither the US nor Nigerian authorities have provided details, while Nigeria's Foreign Minister suggested that the strikes were part of a joint operation and not specifically aimed at a particular religion.
The violence in Nigeria reflects a complex web of security issues involving not just religious militants but also criminal kidnappings and regional unrest. With ongoing threats to both Christians and Muslims, international attention continues to focus on the precarious security situation in Nigeria.
