President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out additional military strikes in Nigeria if killings of Christian communities continue, a statement that has revived debate over religious violence and foreign military involvement in Africa’s most populous country.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military operation conducted in Nigeria on Christmas Day. The US military said the strike targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was carried out at the request of the Nigerian government.
Nigerian authorities, however, described the action as a joint counterterrorism operation, stressing that it was directed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.
“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.”
When asked about comments by his Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted Christians were being disproportionately targeted.
“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence persists.
The Nigerian government has rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.
Nigeria, with a population of more than 230 million people, is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have affected parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.
Nigerian officials have repeatedly noted that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, warning that framing the violence strictly along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.
Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it remained open to continued cooperation with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected suggestions that Christians alone were under threat.
The latest comments are expected to further test diplomatic relations, as Nigeria balances its security partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, counterterrorism cooperation and the global portrayal of its internal conflicts.
