A United States congressman, Mr Riley Moore, has drawn a sharp contrast between deadly Christmas attacks in Nigeria and recent United States military action against Islamist militants, saying this year marked a decisive shift from bloodshed to retaliation.
Writing on Saturday on X, Mr Moore recalled that Nigerian Christians were killed during the last two Christmas seasons.
He noted, however, that this year, extremist groups became the target of military action instead.
“For the past two Christmases, Christians have been murdered in Nigeria. This year, thanks to @POTUS, radical Islamic terrorists were on the receiving end of 12 Tomahawk missiles as a present,” Mr Moore wrote.
He added that the coordinated strikes against Islamic State fighters, carried out in collaboration with the Nigerian government, represented an initial step toward restoring security and halting the killing of Christians.
“The successful strikes on ISIS, in coordination with the Nigerian government, are just the first step to secure the country and end the slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Christ,” he stated.
Recall that the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, announced on Thursday that American forces carried out lethal airstrikes against Islamic State terrorists in northwestern Nigeria.
He warned that further attacks would follow if militants continued to target Christians.
President Trump stated this on his Truth Social platform, saying the Department of War executed what he described as “numerous perfect strikes.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria confirmed the airstrikes on Friday.
Punch/Maxwell Oyekunle
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