The United States launched more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles on Nigeria on Christmas Day after President Donald Trump accused the West African country\u2019s government of failing to protect persecuted Christians.<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. military officials said the attack, which they said was coordinated with Nigerian authorities, targeted ISIS-linked groups that Trump has accused of \u201ctargeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n But the strikes follow the Trump administration\u2019s drastic reduction of the number of refugees <\/a>admitted into the United States each year, while adding Nigeria to a growing list of countries where travel and immigration into the country has been severely restricted.<\/a><\/p>\n Over the last decade, Nigerians received an average of 128,000 immigrant and nonimmigrant visas on an annual basis, nearly all of which will now face severe restrictions, blocking most legal pathways into the country, according to an analysis from the American Immigration Council.<\/p>\n Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has long been plagued by violence, and analysts and local officials have argued that Nigerians of many faiths \u2014 including Christians and Muslims \u2014 have suffered under the web of armed groups in conflicts that the Trump administration has now waded into.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The US military launched Christmas Day airstrikes in Nigeria after the Trump administration accused the government of failing to stop ISIS-linked groups from targeting Christians (AP)<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s operation appears to follow a months-long narrative from Republican officials and Trump-aligned Christian evangelical groups that Christians are the targets. Last month, the president suggested the United States could enter the country \u201cguns-a-blazing,\u201d and he has since promised more attacks if the \u201cslaughter of Christians continues.\u201d<\/p>\n The Christmas strikes hit Sokoto State, a majority-Muslim area where recent violence is linked to a group called Lakurawa, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Some analysts have linked the group to the Islamic state while others have argued a connection to a rival al-Qaeda outfit Jama\u2019at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s targeting of the area, coupled with the American narrative, is \u201cpolitically convenient,\u201d according to Mustapha Alhassan, a security analyst in Nigeria who spoke to The Washington Post.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cNigerians would welcome the help if it was hitting precise targets,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t seem to be what is happening. All of this is to what end?\u201d<\/p>\n In October, Trump designated Nigeria a \u201ccountry of particular concern\u201d under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.<\/p>\n The largely symbolic label is given to countries that have \u201cengaged in severe violations of religious freedom\u201d and instructs nations to \u201ctake targeted responses to violations of religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the \u201ccharacterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The Trump administration has meanwhile severely restricted Nigerians from traveling into the US and cut off legal immigration pathways as it overhauls the nation\u2019s refugee system (REUTERS)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/US-Trump-Nigeria-Millitary-Strikes-srnyq4ym.jpeg\")
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