President Donald Trump on Saturday warned of attainable army intervention in Nigeria and referred to as on the West African nation to take motion in opposition to the killing of Christians. He has directed the Division of Protection to organize for what he described as “quick” motion and introduced a direct halt to all U.S. help and help to Nigeria, in accordance with his publish on Reality Social.
In accordance to Reuters, Nigeria has 200 ethnic teams training Christianity, Islam and conventional religions.
“If we assault, it is going to be quick, vicious, and candy, identical to the terrorist thugs assault our CHERISHED Christians,” Trump wrote in his publish.
If U.S. forces have been to deploy, the president declared, they might go in “guns-a-blazing” to “utterly wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who’re committing these horrible atrocities.” Trump additionally referred to Nigeria as a “disgraced nation” and cautioned that its authorities must act swiftly.
Nigeria Defends Spiritual Freedom File
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu pushed again in opposition to claims of spiritual intolerance earlier than Trump’s risk.
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“The characterization of Nigeria as religiously illiberal doesn’t mirror our nationwide actuality, nor does it take into accounts the constant and honest efforts of the federal government to safeguard freedom of faith and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu mentioned in an X publish.
Nigeria’s International Ministry mentioned it “will proceed to defend all residents, regardless of race, creed, or faith,” Reuters reported.
On Saturday, the Ministry posted on Instagram, “We mourn the victims of violent extremism.”
Trump Restores ‘Nations of Explicit Concern’ Designation
The risk got here someday after Trump’s administration added Nigeria again to a “Nations of Explicit Concern” record of countries that the U.S. says have violated non secular freedom.
In response to the report, Trump designated Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and high oil producer, a rustic of concern throughout his first time period.
Democratic President Joe Biden eliminated it from the U.S. State Division record in 2021.
Biden additionally praised Tinubu in October 2024 for his function in securing the discharge of Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) govt Tigran Gambaryan on humanitarian grounds.
Different nations on the record of specific concern embody China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
Trump acknowledged on Friday through his that radical Islamists have been murdering “1000’s of Christians” in Nigeria.
Navy Footprint And Safety Context
Reuters report claims that Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist armed group, has terrorized northeast Nigeria for the previous 15 years, killing tens of 1000’s of individuals. In response to human rights consultants, Muslims have been the vast majority of victims.
The U.S. army footprint in West Africa was considerably diminished when about 1,000 troops withdrew from Niger final 12 months.
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Disclaimer: This content material was partially produced with the assistance of AI instruments and was reviewed and printed by Benzinga editors.