The Nigerian military announced on Monday that about 100 US troops have arrived in Nigeria to help train Nigerian soldiers as the Trump administration continues to deepen US involvement in the country.
The 100 troops are the first to arrive as part of a deployment of 200 US soldiers to Nigeria, which was announced by US military officials last week. The 200 US troops will augment a “small team” of US military advisors who deployed to the country weeks ago.
The military deployment comes after the US launched its first missile strike in Nigeria on Christmas Day. US Africa Command said the attack, launched by a US warship in the Gulf of Guinea, killed ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State, but the deaths have never been confirmed.
Several of the Tomahawk missiles fired into Nigeria fell short and landed on two villages far from the intended target. No civilians were killed, but in one of the villages, several homes were destroyed.
The Trump administration has justified the intervention by using the pretext of helping protect Nigeria’s Christians. President Trump initially threatened intervention with or without the consent of the government over claims that Nigerian authorities were looking the other way while a Christian genocide was taking place in the country, but the two sides have since agreed to increase military cooperation.
While Christians in Nigeria face significant violence from ISIS-linked groups, armed bandits, and herdsmen, the Nigerian government disputes the idea that a Christian genocide is taking place since Muslims are also frequently killed. For example, about 200 people in a Muslim-majority town in the state of Kwara in western Nigeria were massacred earlier this month.
Locals alleged the attackers were linked to ISIS and committed the massacre because the villagers didn’t allow them to preach. According to residents speaking to The Associated Press, the attackers went into a mosque in the village, announced the call to prayer, and shot everyone who showed up.
