Trump Threatens More Strikes In Nigeria Over ‘Killing Of Christians’

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians continue, despite the Nigerian government insisting there is no systematic persecution of the faith.

Trump made the warning in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, responding to questions about a U.S. strike in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

The U.S. military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigerian authorities described the action as a joint operation against “terrorists” and stressed it was not aimed at any particular religion.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike … But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump said, according to CNBC.

When asked about remarks from his own Africa adviser, who noted that Islamic State and Boko Haram militants had killed more Muslims than Christians, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were the primary target.

“I think that Muslims are also being killed in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump began publicly warning in late October that Christianity in Nigeria faces an “existential threat,” threatening U.S. intervention over what he described as the government’s failure to protect Christian communities.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with over 230 million people, is roughly evenly split between Christians, mainly in the south, and Muslims, concentrated in the north.

While Nigeria continues to face serious security challenges, including insurgency, banditry, and kidnappings in the north, officials have repeatedly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians.

They said they are open to cooperating with Washington against militants but rejected the notion that Christians are uniquely targeted.

Nigerian authorities continue to maintain that extremist groups kill both Muslims and Christians, with the violence driven by terrorism and criminality rather than religion.