President Trump is threatening to send the U.S. military to Nigeria to stop the slaughter of Christians. Islamic terror groups there have targeted Christian communities there for decades.
After first denying the problem, the Nigerian government now says it would welcome U.S. help in fighting Muslim insurgents killing Christians, as long as its territorial integrity is respected.
This comes after President Trump warned on Truth Social, the U.S. military stands prepared to go into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing,” claiming the country’s government is allowing Christians to be slaughtered, and adding the Nigerian government better move fast!
When a reporter asked him directly if he could see sending U.S. troops on the ground, Trump replied, “Could be, a lot of things I envisage. A lot of things. They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria and they have other countries very bad, also. You know that. That part of the world, very bad. They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.”
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Estimates of the number of Christians killed in Nigeria from Muslim extremist groups and sectarian violence since 2009 are in the tens of thousands – some claim that it exceeds 100,000.
CBN News Coverage:
Nigeria is split nearly equally between Muslims and Christians, but over the last decade, the violent terror group Boko Haram and other extremists have increased attacks in northern Nigeria.
Nigerian broadcaster and political commentator Cyril Abaku said that if U.S. involvement makes Nigeria safer, Nigerians would welcome it.
“We are at a level where terrorism is now a global problem, and our communities don’t feel safe, and so if we have support from outside coming to say, ‘We want to work with you to help stem the tide,’ I think we should buy it. This is something we should welcome, frankly,” Abaku said.
President Trump also declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, opening the door for State Department sanctions.
Sunday, churches around the world took part in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Ryan Brown of Open Doors U.S. says prayer is the most important thing the church can do for Nigerian Christians.
“Our brothers and sisters, the thing that they have most asked for is to know that they are not alone,” Brown said. “When the international body of Christ can come alongside on a day like the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church, that sends a strong, strong message to our brothers and sisters to let them know they are not forgotten.”
