President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could launch additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians persist.
Trump issued the warning during an interview with The New York Times (NYT), where he was asked whether the Christmas Day missile strikes against the Islamic State terror group signalled the start of a wider military campaign.
The strikes came roughly a month after Trump threatened to deploy US troops to Nigeria, saying they would go in “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our cherished Christians,” amid repeated claims by some US politicians that Christians were being targeted for genocide in the West African country.
Nigeria, however, maintained control over the decision-making surrounding the single operation, according to Ademola Oshodi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol.
Following the strikes, Trump indicated that further action could be taken and reiterated that stance in the NYT interview published on Thursday.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” he said. “But if they continue to kill Christians it will be a many-time strike.”
The Nigerian government has consistently dismissed allegations that Christians are being deliberately targeted for killing.
In October, Trump’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, said extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS were killing more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria.
When asked about his adviser’s remarks, Trump responded: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”
