US President Donald Trump signaled readiness for further military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians persist, framing a recent Christmas Day operation against Islamic State militants as potentially the first in a series amid ongoing sectarian violence in the West African nation.
In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Trump expressed a preference for limited action but warned of escalation, 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.”
He acknowledged broader casualties, adding: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”
The December 25 airstrike in northwest Nigeria targeted Islamic State affiliates at the request of local authorities, according to US officials, marking a high-profile intervention in the region’s protracted conflict involving groups like Boko Haram and IS West Africa Province.
Nigeria’s government dismissed assertions of a Christian genocide, emphasizing that extremist violence has claimed lives across religious lines in the troubled north, and highlighted international cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts.
