Les Etats-Unis déclarent avoir déployé une équipe militaire au Nigeria
For several weeks, the two countries have decided to strengthen their military cooperation following diplomatic pressure exerted by Washington on Abuja regarding the violence committed by jihadists and other armed groups.
President Donald Trump notably claimed that Christians in Nigeria were "persecuted" and victims of a "genocide" perpetrated by "terrorists," which Abuja and the majority of experts have firmly denied, with the violence affecting Christians and Muslims indiscriminately in Africa's most populous country.
The United States and Nigeria have agreed on "increased collaboration" which has led to "the participation of a small American team that brings unique skills to strengthen the efforts deployed by Nigeria for several years," General Anderson said during a virtual press conference Tuesday, without specifying the nature of the team's activities.
Africom had already explained to AFP at the end of January that the US military was increasing its deliveries of equipment and intelligence sharing with Nigeria, as part of a strategy to track down jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group.
On Christmas Day, the United States carried out strikes against ISIS targets in Sokoto State, in northwestern Nigeria.
Africom had specified to AFP that American support would focus on this region as well as on northeastern Nigeria, where a jihadist insurgency orchestrated by Boko Haram and its dissident faction, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), has been raging since 2009.
Nigeria is almost equally divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
Although millions of people live peacefully side by side, religious and ethnic identity remains a sensitive subject in this country marked by sectarian violence.
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