A small contingent of U.S. troops has been deployed to Nigeria, according to the general overseeing the U.S. military command for Africa, who spoke yesterday. This marks the first official confirmation of U.S. forces operating on Nigerian soil since Washington was hit by an air attack on Christmas Day.
President Donald Trump had authorised airstrikes in December on what he called Islamic State targets in Nigeria, while warning that further U.S. military actions could follow.
Reuters had earlier disclosed that the United States had been flying surveillance missions over Nigeria from Ghana since at least late November.
The senior general explained that the deployment followed mutual agreement between both governments that stronger measures were required to tackle the terrorist threat across West Africa.
“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States,” General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command AFRICOM, told journalists at a briefing yesterday.
Anderson declined to give additional information on the team’s size or the extent of its assignment.
Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa, retd, also confirmed the presence of the team in Nigeria but offered no further clarification.
A former U.S. official disclosed that the American team was largely focused on intelligence collection and supporting Nigerian forces in carrying out strikes against terrorist-linked groups.
Nigeria has faced mounting pressure from Washington following President Trump’s accusation that the country has failed to safeguard Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.
The Nigerian government has rejected claims of organised persecution of Christians, insisting that its operations target Islamist fighters and other armed groups responsible for attacks on both Christian and Muslim civilians.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, militants have stepped up assaults on military convoys and civilians, with the northwest continuing to serve as the focal point of the 17-year Islamist insurgency.
The U.S. military’s Africa command stated that the airstrike was executed in Sokoto State in coordination with Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of several ISIS militants.
The strike followed Trump’s warnings in late October that Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria, alongside his threat of military intervention over what he described as the country’s failure to halt violence against Christian communities.
