Recent US airstrikes have “clearly had an impact” on the situation facing Christians in Nigeria, but religiously motivated violence continues, according to an Open Doors source.
Militant Islamist groups previously feared no punishment for their continual persecution of Christians across the nation’s northwest, but US intervention seems to have alerted them to stronger repercussions for their actions.
US President Donald Trump’s administration strengthened its rhetoric concerning the African nation towards the end of last year because of the long-running persecution of believers, culminating in airstrikes in the country’s north on Christmas Day, where much of the most brutal persecution takes place. Trump warned that their “one-time” strike could become a “many-time” strike if hostility continued to persist.
Ben Cohen, Open Doors’ Head of Media in the UK and Ireland, told en: “The American airstrikes in the northwest have clearly had an impact. For many of the groups that have been targeting Christians across Nigeria, there was a sense that they could keep attacking and abducting with impunity. Now there is a realisation that this is no longer true.”
However, while US action has made some attackers more wary of further intervention, attacks on Christians continue. A total of 166 worshippers were kidnapped from multiple church services in Kaduna state (they have since been rescued) in what is perhaps this year’s most noteworthy incident, while at least 12 believers have reportedly been killed by Fulani herdsmen in Plateau state.
Cohen revealed that while the strikes have led to some militants “fleeing their camps or even the country”, other groups have since attacked perceived “soft targets” to strengthen their finances or use them as “collateral against future attacks”.
Many questions remain about how events will unfold, with continuing attacks against Christians leaving further US intervention as a realistic possibility. Cohen said of the future: “The violence continues. It takes different forms in different regions, but the religious motivations are clearly present, and the targeting of Christians is clear across the board.”
