Why did Trump order strikes towards Nigeria? | EUROtoday

Donald Trump has introduced that the US army has launched strikes towards ISIS targets in Nigeria after accusing the group of focusing on Christians.

The US president stated his Department of War had carried out “numerous perfect strikes” and that the US would “not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper”.

“May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” he added.

It is the most recent spherical of army motion by the US, following weeks of army buildup and strikes on boats round Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, casting rising doubt over the President’s declare to be the “President of Peace”.

The Independent takes a take a look at why Trump has determined to strike Nigeria and what the response has been.

How did the US strike Nigeria?

The US army focused Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria in a significant escalation.

Nigeria’s overstretched army has struggled to comprise Islamic terrorism for years.

The strikes have been carried out within the strikes in Sokoto state, one of many areas the place Nigeria is battling a number of armed teams. Lagos stated the US strikes have been a part of an trade of intelligence and strategic coordination between the 2 nations.

Officials didn’t say precisely which group was focused, however safety analysts stated the goal was possible members of a militant group referred to as Lakurawa, which grew to become extra deadly in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi within the final yr, typically focusing on distant communities and safety forces.

Why has Trump determined to strike Nigeria?

Trump stated the strikes have been towards Islamic State militants he claimed have been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”

The safety disaster in Nigeria is affecting each Christians, predominant within the south, and Muslims, who’re the bulk within the north, residents and safety analysts instructed The Associated Press.

The armed teams in Nigeria embrace two affiliated with the Islamic State. They embrace an offshoot of the Boko Haram group often known as the Islamic State West Africa Province within the northeast, and within the northwest, the lesser-known Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) recognized domestically as Lakurawa.

Lakurawa militants, who’ve been energetic in northwest Nigeria since round 2017 after being invited by authorities in Sokoto to guard towards bandit teams, have now “overstayed their welcome, clashing with some of the community leaders … and enforcing a harsh interpretation of sharia law that alienated much of the rural population,” says James Barnett, an Africa researcher with the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

MAGA claims a ‘Christian genocide’ is happening

The strikes come after months of accusations from Maga figures within the US {that a} genocide towards Christians was happening in Nigeria.

Trump threatened earlier this yr that he would cease US assist to Nigeria and ship in US troops “guns-a-blazing” if it “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.

Even rapper Nicki Minaj got here out in assist of defending Christians in Nigeria, when she stated: “In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted. Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart… simply because of how they pray.”

But the Nigerian authorities pushed again towards claims, describing them as “a gross misrepresentation of reality”.

Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu stated: “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.”