Trump Admits Muslims Also Killed in Nigeria but Maintains Christians Are Main Targets

Trump Admits Muslims Also Killed in Nigeria but Maintains Christians Are Main Targets

For the first time since ramping up his rhetoric on Nigeria’s security crisis, U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Muslims are also victims of killings in the country, even as he maintained that Christians are the primary targets of extremist violence.

In an interview with The New York Times, Trump said the violence in Nigeria affects multiple religious groups, but insisted that Christians bear the brunt of the attacks. “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he was quoted as saying.

Trump’s remarks followed a Christmas Day U.S. military strike in Nigeria against what Washington described as terror targets linked to Islamic State. The U.S. President suggested that the operation might not be a one-off, warning that further action could follow if killings continue.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike… But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump said.

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The comments marked a slight shift from Trump’s earlier position, in which he repeatedly claimed that attacks in Nigeria were focused almost exclusively on Christian communities. When reminded that his own Africa adviser had stated that extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had killed more Muslims than Christians, Trump again acknowledged Muslim casualties but doubled down on his assertion.

Trump had, in late October, warned that Christianity faced an “existential threat” in Nigeria, accusing the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christian communities. He subsequently redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom and threatened possible U.S. military intervention.

The Federal Government of Nigeria rejected claims of religious genocide, stressing that terrorist and criminal groups attack citizens regardless of faith. Abuja later dispatched a high-powered delegation to the United States to brief American officials on the country’s complex security challenges.

Following the diplomatic engagement, senior U.S. officials visited Nigeria to obtain first-hand assessments of the situation, as both countries reaffirmed cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts while Nigeria maintained that violence against any religious group is unacceptable.

Trump Admits Muslims Also Killed in Nigeria but Maintains Christians Are Main Targets