US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train African nation's military
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers observe as Nigerien armed forces service members fire their weapons in Diffa, Niger, Nigeria’s neighbor, March 9, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zayid Ballesteros via via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS))
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 - The United States is planning to send about 200 troops to Nigeria to train the African nation's military to fight Islamist militants, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, weeks after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes against what he called Islamic State targets.
The U.S. military said last week it sent a small team of troops to Nigeria without specifying a number, marking the first acknowledgment of U.S. forces on the ground since Washington struck by air on Christmas Day.
Trump has said there could be more U.S. military action in Nigeria and Reuters has reported that the U.S. had been conducting surveillance flights over the country from Ghana since at least late November.
The official said the 200 troops will supplement a handful of U.S. military personnel already in Nigeria to help local forces.
U.S. Africa Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nigeria has come under intense pressure from Washington to act after Trump alleged the West African nation was failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.
The Nigerian government denies any systematic persecution of Christians, saying it is targeting Islamist fighters and other armed groups that attack and kill both Christians and Muslims.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have intensified attacks on military convoys and civilians, and the northwest remains an epicenter of a 17-year Islamist insurgency.
Nigeria's population of over 230 million people is roughly evenly divided among Christians, who predominate in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Kanishka Singh in Washington and Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City; Editing by Lincoln Feast // REUTERS)
