Will the US invade Nigeria? “The army has developed plans on Trump's orders”

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has developed plans under President Donald Trump's orders to end the alleged mass murder of Christians by Muslims in Nigeria.

On Thursday, the New York Times described the scenarios analyzed by the United States armed forces. They present three potential military operations targeting jihadists and terrorist groups roaming Nigeria. The variants were described as light, medium and heavy.

The light option is the landing of American troops in Nigeria and the elimination of Boko Haram jihadists together with Nigerian forces. and other Islamist rebels who kidnap and murder civilians in the north and east of the country. It is unlikely due to the vast and very difficult terrain where these forces would have to operate.

The middle option would be to use drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator to destroy militant camps, their bases and convoys. However, the New York daily reminds that this variant also has weaknesses, because in August last year the US military left the two drone bases closest to Nigeria, in Agadez and Niamey, in neighboring Niger. These bases are currently in the hands of Russian mercenaries.

The third option given to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon would be deploying a group of aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Guinea and sending fighters and probably long-range bombers to strike at bandits' hideouts, benefiting from the protection of the dense forests covering northern Nigeria. This option would require close cooperation with the Nigerian intelligence, which has so far been unable to cope with the fight against bandits and terrorists.

Last weekend, Trump threatened Nigerian authorities with military action to stop what he described as attacks on “valued Christians” but is in fact a campaign of violence and land disputes that have killed thousands of Muslims and Christians.

Nigerians are currently outdoing each other in revealing – in their opinion – the actual motives of the American president's actions. On Wednesday, Abubakar Sadeeque Abba, professor of political science and international relations at the University of Abuja, said Trump's threats were revenge for Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's financing of Trump's rival Kamala Harris during last year's US presidential campaign.

Another reason – according to the Nigerian scientist – is the huge reserves of Nigerian crude oil, of which Nigeria is the largest producer and exporter in Africa, and over which the United States would allegedly like to take control. (PAP)

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