The United States will send 200 troops to Nigeria to train the country’s military, as the West African nation battles insurgents across swathes of its northern territory.
According to Reuters, a US official said the troops will
supplement a handful of United States military personnel already on the ground
in Nigeria.
The deployment will follow increased security partnership
between both nations since US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a
“country of particular concern” over Christian genocide claims.
Last week, Dagvin Anderson, US Africa Command (AFRICOM)
commander, visited Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja.
Anderson was received by President Bola Tinubu, Nuhu Ribadu,
national security adviser (NSA); Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Olufemi
Oluyede, chief of defence staff; Waidi Shaibu, chief of army staff; and other
senior security officials.
Shared security priorities, with a focus on countering
terrorist organisations that threaten Nigeria, the United States, the wider
region, and global security, were discussed.
Anderson said the US military had already deployed some
forces in Nigeria as part of an expanded bilateral agreement to tackle
terrorism and related security threats, though he did not disclose the exact
size of the cavalry.
He noted that the troops will primarily focus on
intelligence gathering and providing support to local forces.
On Christmas Day, the US launched missile strikes on two
terrorist enclaves in Bauni forest in Tangaza LGA, Sokoto state.
Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs said the “precision
hits” stemmed from the exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination
between both countries, and was in line with “established international
practice and bilateral understanding”.
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