Pentagon to deploy roughly 200 troops to Nigeria

America is making ready to ship troops to Nigeria the place they’ll practice the nation’s armed forces as they battle an Islamist insurgency, authorities in Lagos mentioned not too long ago.

Roughly 200 troops are anticipated to be deployed within the coming weeks, in line with a U.S. official. They are going to complement a small workforce of American army officers already embedded with Nigerian forces. The Wall Road Journal was the primary to report on the upcoming deployment.

Nigerian officers insisted that the brand new American contingent won’t be partaking in fight.

Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Protection Headquarters, mentioned in an announcement that the troops will as a substitute function “technical and coaching personnel.”

The deployment comes greater than a month after President Donald Trump introduced that U.S. forces had bombed what he termed “ISIS Terrorist Scum” in Nigeria on Christmas night time.

U.S. Africa Command mentioned its preliminary evaluation indicated that “a number of ISIS terrorists” within the Sokoto State had been killed within the strikes.

The timing of the operation, the president later acknowledged, was largely symbolic, noting he had delayed the assault to ship a “Christmas current” to the insurgents.

Within the run-up to the operation, Trump let fly a fusillade of Reality Social posts demanding the safety of Christians in Nigeria – who he claims are being “mass slaughtered” – or else the U.S. army would go “guns-a-blazing” into Africa’s most populous nation.

“When Christians come underneath assault, [their assailants] know they’re going to be attacked violently and viciously by President Trump,” Trump declared throughout a speech on the Nationwide Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill final week. “I do know it’s not a pleasant factor to say, however that’s the way in which it’s.”

The Nigerian authorities, in the meantime, has rejected the declare of a Christian genocide, saying terrorist teams, together with Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, have made no distinction between Christians and Muslims within the nation.

Extremists have killed 1000’s at church buildings, mosques and villages alike. Past sectarian tensions, the violence additionally stems from longstanding disputes over land and water sources.

Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of AFRICOM, mentioned the U.S. was dedicated to partnered collaboration to fight the terrorist menace within the space.

“U.S. Africa Command is working with Nigerian and regional companions to extend counterterrorism cooperation efforts associated to on-going violence and threats in opposition to harmless lives,” he mentioned in an announcement after the Christmas night time assault.

“Our aim is to guard People and disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they’re.”