 "US launches 'powerful and deadly strikes' against Islamic State in Nigeria: Donald Trump")
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his country launched a “powerful and deadly” strike against the Islamic State (IS) group operating in north-western Nigeria. In a post on TruthSocial, the American leader described the radical group as “terrorist scum”.
He went on to accuse IS of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”. In the post, Trump made it clear that the American military “executed numerous perfect strikes” without giving any further details. It is unclear what exact targets were struck and when.
The strikes on these targets came a month after Trump ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups operating in the country. In the Thursday post, Trump said that “under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”.
Back in November, Trump made claims of genocide being conducted against Nigeria's Christians, a proclamation that has been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles. However, groups that have been monitoring violence in the region argue that 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.
How the Nigerian government is looking at the US stance
Meanwhile, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told the BBC that military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together. Daniel Bwala told the British news outlet that Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a “sovereign” country.
He also maintained that the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none. Earlier, Nigerian President Tinubu insisted that there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people “across faiths and regions”.
Quick Reads
View AllThe remarks came after Trump announced that he had declared Nigeria a “ Country of Particular Concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population. He claimed that “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence of religion-based discrimination.
It is pertinent to note that the aforementioned designation is used by the US State Department, which provides sanctions against countries “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.” Soon after the announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.
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