United States President Donald Trump has warned that Washington may carry out additional military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, despite the Nigerian federal government’s insistence that there is no systematic persecution of Christians in the country.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions on the United States’ Christmas Day military strike in Nigeria.
According to the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), the operation targeted Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria and was conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian government.
Nigeria had earlier described the strike as a “joint operation” against “terrorists,” insisting that it had “nothing to do with a particular religion.”
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, also said the recent US airstrikes on terrorist targets in north-western Nigeria were carried out with Nigeria’s full cooperation, approval, and intelligence support. He stressed that the operation did not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty and did not target any religious group.
In the interview, Trump said further military action remained possible, stating, “I’d love to make it a one-time strike … But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
When asked about comments by his own Africa adviser that Islamic State and Boko Haram militants were killing more Muslims than Christians, Trump replied: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”