The United States has attacked IS militants in Nigeria. What the media is writing
US President Donald Trump announced attacks on the positions of the Islamic State (IS, ISIL, the organization is recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) in Nigeria. The government said the attacks were carried out in cooperation with the US military. Trump had previously threatened to strike because of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. How the world's media reacts to the attacks is in the Izvestia digest.
NBC News: Trump announces strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria
Trump said he had ordered "multiple" strikes on suspected terrorist targets in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day. In a message posted on the Truth Social platform, the president wrote that the "powerful and deadly" strikes were directed against the Islamic State terrorists, whom he blamed for the attacks and killings of Christians in the country.
NBC News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared Trump's post on his social media page, adding that he was "grateful for the support and cooperation from the government of Nigeria." A video released by the Pentagon shows at least one shell fired from a warship. A representative of the US Department of Defense said that the strike was carried out against several militants in known ISIS camps.
On the morning of December 26, Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kimiyobi Imomotimi Ebienfa said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, including intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to combat militant groups. According to him, this cooperation and legal efforts will continue.
Associated Press: What you need to know about the targets of strikes in Nigeria
The US airstrikes against IS militants in northwestern Nigeria marked a major escalation of the offensive that the Nigerian army, which has been struggling for many years. In Africa's most populous country, there are at least two armed groups linked to ISIS: an offshoot of the extremist group Boko Haram, banned in Russia, known in the northeast as the Islamic State of West Africa, and the Islamic State of the Sahel, known locally as Lakurawa and occupying a prominent place on the northwest.
Associated Press
Although officials did not specify which group was targeted, security analysts said that the target, if indeed Islamic State militants, was likely members of the Lakurawa group, which has become more deadly in border states such as Sokoto and Kebbi in the past year. often attacking remote settlements and security forces.
The Nigerian military claimed that this group has roots in neighboring Niger and that it has become more active in the border areas of Nigeria after the military coup of 2023. This coup led to a deterioration in relations between the two countries and affected their multinational military operations along the poorly controlled border.
The New York Times: what you need to know about the US military operations in Nigeria
On November 1, Trump said that if the Nigerian government continues to "allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately stop all aid to Nigeria and may well break into this disgraced country with weapons at the ready." A day earlier, the US administration said it would restore Nigeria's status as a "country of particular concern." Trump took a similar step in 2020, towards the end of his first term, but this decision was reversed under the Joe Biden administration.
The New York Times
Nigeria has denied the allegations. Its President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the country remains committed to protecting religious freedom. "Nigeria stands firmly in the position of a democratic state governed on the basis of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom," Tinubu wrote on social media.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2024 report says that extremist violence in Nigeria "affects a large number of Christians and Muslims in several states." Deadly clashes between pastoralists and farmers have also repeatedly occurred in central Nigeria, as the struggle for scarce resources inflames long-standing tensions based on religion and ethnicity. Pastoralists tend to belong to the Fulani ethnic group and are Muslims, while farmers often practice Christianity.
CNN: Trump claims persecution of Christians in Nigeria
After months of warnings that the United States might take military action to end violence against Christians in Nigeria, Trump announced on Christmas Day that he had done just that — struck Islamic State terrorists in the northwest of the country. Details of the strike, which occurred after Trump threatened to suspend aid to Nigeria due to violence against Christians, are still being clarified.
CNN
Nigeria has been struggling for years with deep-rooted security issues caused by various factors, including sectarian attacks. There are approximately equal numbers of Christians in the country, mainly in the south, and Muslims, who are mainly concentrated in the north. In 2012, the Islamist group Boko Haram issued an ultimatum, ordering Christians in the northern region to leave and urging Muslims in the south to return to the north. Most of the targeted killings in recent years have occurred in the north.
Observers note that other violent conflicts arise from inter-communal and ethnic tensions, as well as disputes between farmers and pastoralists over limited access to land and water. According to Pastor John Joseph Khayab, homicides have decreased over the past two years. However, this year, a series of high-profile attacks have taken place in the predominantly Christian areas of the north of the country, which have attracted international attention and condemnation.
Reuters: five people were killed in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria
At least five worshippers were killed and 35 injured when a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device inside a mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of the Nigerian state of Borno, during evening prayers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place amid increased security measures in northeastern Nigeria.
Reuters
The explosion at the Al-Adum mosque occurred at about 18:00 local time (20:00 Moscow time), when parishioners gathered for evening prayers. Eyewitnesses described the panic that prevailed as the victims were rushed to the University Hospital of Maiduguri and the state specialized hospital. "No one knows what happened. The bomb exploded during prayer. Allah has ordained that this will happen, but no one can tell you the details," said Masta Dalori, one of the owners of the market.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum condemned the attack, calling it "completely reprehensible, barbaric and inhumane." In his statement, he called for increased vigilance in places of worship and public places during the holiday season. Last August, armed men attacked a mosque and nearby houses in the northwestern state of Katsina, killing at least 50 people.
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