US President Donald Trump has said America launched a very powerful and deadly attack on members of the Islamic State in northwestern Nigeria. The US president described ISIS as “terrorist scum,” claiming that this terrorist organisation mainly targeted and brutally assassinated innocent Christians.
Trump stated that numerous perfect strikes were carried out by the US military. The US Africa Command then reported that Thursday’s attack was conducted in collaboration with Nigeria in Sokoto state.
Nigerian Minister Says It Was Joint
It is a joint operation against terrorists, and they are not targeting any particular religion. Although Tuggar avoided making direct references to IS, he was quoted as saying that the mission had been planned for quite some time and that it relied on intelligence information provided by the Nigerian side.
The minister failed to rule out further strikes, stating that this was dependent on what was going to be decided by the leadership of both countries. Trump said on Thursday night: Because under my leadership, our Country will not let Radical Islamic Terrorism thrive.
Trump also directed the US military to be prepared to take action in Nigeria to combat Islamist militant groups in November. His comments appeared to refer to a specific series of killings, although it is not clear which ones.
No Evidence Christians Targeted More Than Muslims
There had been rumours of a genocide against the Christian populations of Nigeria in certain Right-wing circles in the US. There are also no indications of more attacks being directed at Christians than at Muslims. On his part, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked Nigeria’s government for its support and cooperation in his tweets on Thursday.
The US Department of Defence released an unclassified video of what seemed to be a missile launched from a military ship shortly thereafter. On Friday morning, statement from the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was made clear that Nigerian authorities continue to engage with structured security partnership work with international communities, such as the United States of America, in combating threats of terrorist and violent extremism.
This has enabled accurate hits of terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West, as stated in the release. “Groups who monitor violence in Nigeria report that there is nothing to indicate that Christians are being killed in preference to Muslims, which is to be expected because the country has about equal numbers of Christians and Muslims,” according to a statement by Human Rights Watch. Perhaps related to this, Human Rights Watch monitored the executions
The extremist group does not target a specific religious group, the president explained. They have killed people of all religions and also those who do not belong to any. President Tinubu has been adamant about the presence of religious tolerance in the country and has pointed out that the security threats affect people of all religions.
Trump had earlier said he had placed Nigeria on the list of Countries of Particular Concern because of the existential threat against Christians in the country. He had said thousands had been killed, without providing evidence. This is an official categorisation employed by the US State Department that lays down sanctions for nations that have been implicated in grave violations of religious liberty.
After this announcement, Tinubu stated that his government is committed to engaging the US and the international community in ensuring that all communities of faith are protected. Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and several other Jihadist groups have wreaked havoc in the north east of Nigeria for over a decade, and this has resulted in thousands of deaths, although these are mainly Muslim, as confirmed by the ACLED group, who are World Analysts on political violence worldwide.
In central Nigeria, there are conflicts between Muslim cattle herders and farming communities, who are predominantly Christians, over access to water and pastureage. Cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also led to thousands of people being killed, but atrocities were committed on both sides.
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