According to its media, the United States is preparing to send troops to Nigeria to provide support in the battle against the Islamist insurgency. At least 200 troops are expected to be deployed in the coming weeks, supplemented by a small team of American military officers already embedded with Nigerian forces.

Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters, reported that the US troops will act as “technical and training personnel” and they will not be engaging in combat. This close-future deployment comes more than a month after President Trump’s announcement of the US strike – by TOMAHAWK cruise missiles – on suspected ISIS positions, accused of executing mass Christian killing. Trump also added in a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill that “when Christians come under attack, [their assailants] know they’re going to be attacked violently and viciously by President Trump.” The Nigerian government has rejected the “allegation” of a Christian genocide, reporting that the terrorist groups (Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa) have made no distinction on killing Christians and Muslims in the country. Despite the religious “shop-window” matter, the violence is also linked with longstanding disputes over land and water resources.

According to Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of AFRICOM, the deployment of the US forces in the African country has the goal to increase “counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to on-going violence and threats against innocent lives,” in accordance with the US strategy “to protect Americans and disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are.”

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