President Trump on Saturday threatened military intervention in Nigeria, saying the US may go into the country “guns-a-blazing” over allegations that the government isn’t doing enough to protect Christians from Islamist militants.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” the president added.
The Nigerian government, which receives military aid from the US, said that it welcomed US support against terrorism but that the US needs to respect its “territorial integrity.” Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, told Reuters that he was sure “by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism.” He also said that the Nigerian government doesn’t “expect there to be US military action in Nigeria.”
Since 2009, the Nigerian government has been fighting against Boko Haram and its ISIS-affiliated offshoot, known as the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP), mainly in the country’s northeast. Nigeria’s population of about 230 million is roughly half Christian and half Muslim, with Muslims mainly residing in the north and Christians in the south, and large numbers of Muslim civilians have been the victims of Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Many Christians have been killed in central Nigeria, where Fulani Muslim herders have been attacking mostly Christian farmers and landowners, which has involved attacks on churches. Fulani herders are also known to attack Muslim farmers in northwest Nigeria.
While many Christians have been killed, churches have been attacked, and priests have been targeted for kidnappings in these conflicts in Nigeria over the years, the government denies the claim that a “Christian genocide” is taking place because it’s not only Christians who have been targeted. Massad Boulos, President Trump’s envoy for Arab and African affairs, a Lebanese-born Christian who has lived in Nigeria, recently made similar comments during a meeting with President Tinubu.
“Of course, any incident of any loss of life is absolutely unfortunate, of course, those who know the terrain well know that terrorism has no colour, no relation, no tribe. People of all religions and of all tribes are dying, and it is very unfortunate, and we even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than more Christians. So people are suffering from all sorts of backgrounds. This is not specifically targeted at one group or the other,” Boulos said on October 17.
Trump’s threat of military action came after he labeled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” a designation given by the State Department to countries it deems engage in or tolerate “severe violations of religious freedom.” The designation potentially paves the way for sanctions against Nigerian officials.
