Some 100 US soldiers have traveled to Nigeria with the aim of contributing to the training of this African country’s army in the fight against jihadism and crime carried out by armed groups that spread throughout its territory, especially in the north. This was announced this Monday in a statement by Brigadier General Samaila Uba, spokesperson for the Nigerian Ministry of Defense, who explained that said deployment occurs at the request of the country’s own Government. The soldiers, who will not participate in field operations and will focus on training tasks, landed at the Bauchi airport, in the northeast of the country, although their exact location has not been reported for security reasons.
According to the statement signed by Uba, the objectives of the US military will be “training, technical support and exchange of intelligence information” for the Nigerian army. Two weeks ago, General Dagvin Anderson, head of the US Africa Command (Africom), had already announced the sending of troops to Nigeria, although without specifying their number.
On December 25, the US army bombed positions of terrorists linked to the Islamic State terrorist group in Sokoto State, in the northwest of the country. This attack, in coordination with the Nigerian Armed Forces, occurred after North American President Donald Trump accused local authorities of inaction in the face of the alleged “Christian genocide” in their territory. The Nigerian Government and the country’s president himself, Bola Tinubu, denied these accusations and defended that the victims of the massacres and violence that affect Nigeria are of various religious denominations, not only Christians.
Following this diplomatic crisis, Nigeria has been more than willing to accept American help in defense and security. For two decades, the country has been immersed in a spiral of violence carried out by jihadist groups, especially Boko Haram, the Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) and Lakurawa, as well as by criminal gangs dedicated to murder, extortion, kidnapping and looting and who operate mainly in the northern states. Insecurity, which is expressed mainly in the form of massacres and kidnappings, has increased in the last five years and has spread across practically half of the country.
The last three Nigerian presidents, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu himself, have faced the increase in violence with little success and citizens have expressed their exhaustion with insecurity on multiple occasions, both on social networks and in street demonstrations.
Recent attacks
One of the latest attacks occurred on February 14 in Niger State, when dozens of armed men arriving on motorcycles murdered some 46 people and kidnapped at least a hundred. On February 3, suspected jihadists murdered around 200 people in Kwara State, in one of the bloodiest attacks this year.
On the other hand, the Nigerian army killed Abou Aisha, one of the leaders of Iswap, this Saturday during a confrontation with terrorists in the towns of Pulka and Mandaragirau, in Borno State, as reported this Monday by General Uba. “Reliable intelligence indicates that the terrorists suffered numerous casualties, including that of a senior commander identified as Abou Aisha, who suffered a fatal wound from a gunshot wound to the neck, as well as significant losses of weapons and equipment,” the defense spokesman said.
The terrorists launched a coordinated attack from the Sambisa forest, where some of their main bases are located, but were met with a response from the army, which also suffered some casualties, Uba added without specifying their number.
Iswap, which maintains links with the Islamic State, operates mainly in Borno State and Lake Chad, bordering Niger, Cameroon and Chad. In 2021, this terrorist group was responsible for the death of Abubakar Shekau, head of Boko Haram, after which it absorbed many of its militants. Its alleged leader is Abu Musab al Barnawi. Five years ago, various sources claimed that he had been murdered, but the International Crisis Group later revealed that he had been wounded, but was alive.
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