United States President Donald Trump has warned that the US may carry out additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christian communities continue.
Trump gave the warning during an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while reacting to a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day.
According to him, the strike was not intended to be repeated, but that could change depending on events on the ground.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump said. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
The US military has maintained that the Christmas Day operation was conducted with the approval of the Nigerian government. Nigerian authorities also confirmed at the time that the action was a joint operation aimed at targeting terrorists.
The Nigerian government stressed that the strike was not religiously motivated and had “nothing to do with a particular religion.”
Trump, however, insisted that while Muslims are also being killed in Nigeria, Christians are the primary victims of the violence.
He acknowledged that the crisis affects different groups but emphasised that attacks on Christian communities remain a major concern for his administration.
The warning has sparked fresh debate over foreign military involvement in Nigeria’s security challenges and the ongoing violence affecting civilian populations across the country.
