The Pentagon is sending 200 troops to Nigeria in the coming weeks to train the country’s military to fight Islamist militants, US officials told media outlets on Tuesday, as President Trump continues to deepen US involvement in the country.
A US official told The New York Times that the 200 troops will augment a small US force that has been in the country for several weeks. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, the head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), recently confirmed that a “small team” of US troops had already deployed to Nigeria. Anderson visited Nigeria on Monday and spoke with senior Nigerian officials about deepening military cooperation.
The deployment comes after the US launched missile strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day that targeted ISIS-linked militants in the northwestern Sokoto State, though several missiles fell on two villages far from the intended target, causing damage in one village and injuries, though no deaths were reported. AFRICOM claimed that multiple militants were killed in the strikes, but there’s been no confirmation of the casualties.
The US and Nigeria have been allies for many years, but back in November, President Trump threatened to go into the country “guns-a-blazing” without the consent of the government if it didn’t do more to protect Christians. Trump’s threat came in response to claims that a “Christian genocide” was occurring in Nigeria and that the government wasn’t doing enough to stop it.
But the Nigerian government denies that a Christian genocide is taking place since much of the violence in the country affects Muslims. For example, about 200 people in a Muslim-majority town were massacred last week in the state of Kwara in western Nigeria.
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.
