…“I would love for it to be a one-time strike,” Trump said. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be many strikes.”
US- The iNews Times | President Donald Trump has warned that the United States may carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians continue.
He issued the warning during an interview with The New York Times, where he was asked whether the Christmas Day missile strikes against the Islamic State terror group marked the beginning of a broader military campaign.
The strikes occurred about a month after Trump had threatened to deploy US troops to Nigeria, declaring they would go in “guns blazing” to eliminate terrorists allegedly responsible for killing Christians. The remarks followed repeated claims by some US politicians that Christians were being subjected to genocide in the West African nation.
However, Nigeria retained control over key decisions related to the operation, according to Ademola Oshodi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol.
After the Christmas Day strikes, Trump suggested that additional action remained possible and reaffirmed that position in the New York Times interview published on Thursday.
“I would love for it to be a one-time strike,” Trump said. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be many strikes.”
The Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims that Christians are being deliberately targeted for violence.
In October, Trump’s senior adviser on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, stated that extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS had killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria.
Asked to respond to his adviser’s comments, Trump said: “I think Muslims are being killed in Nigeria as well, but it’s mostly Christians.”
