The US troopers is not going to have a fight position and are to function underneath the complete command authority of Nigeria’s navy.
Revealed On 16 Feb 2026
The US has despatched 100 navy personnel to northern Nigeria to coach and advise native forces, as lethal threats rise from armed teams resembling Boko Haram and ISIL (ISIS)-linked factions.
Samaila Uba, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters spokesman, confirmed the US troops’ arrival within the northeastern space of Bauchi on Monday.
Really useful Tales
listing of 4 gadgetsfinish of listing
He mentioned they’ll present “technical assist” and “intelligence sharing” to assist goal and defeat “terrorist organisations”. The US additionally despatched “related tools” to assist the mission.
Uba careworn that the US troopers is not going to play a direct fight position, however will share technical experience underneath the complete command authority of Nigerian forces.
“The armed forces of Nigeria stay totally dedicated to degrading and defeating terrorist organisations that threaten the nation’s sovereignty, nationwide safety, and the security of its residents,” mentioned the navy spokesman in feedback carried by Nigeria’s Premium Occasions newspaper.
Final weekend, gunmen on bikes rampaged via three villages in northern Nigeria, killing at the very least 46 folks and abducting many others. The bloodiest assault occurred within the village of Konkoso, in Niger State, the place at the very least 38 folks had been shot useless or had their throats slit.
Protracted struggle
The US deployment follows an easing of tensions that flared between Washington and Nigeria late final yr, when US President Donald Trump accused the nation of failing to cease killings in opposition to Christians and threatened to intervene militarily.
The Nigerian authorities has rejected Trump’s accusation, and analysts say folks throughout all faiths, not simply Christians, are victims of armed teams’ violence
In December, US forces launched air strikes on ISIL-affiliated fighters within the nation’s northwest. Final month, following discussions with Nigerian authorities in Abuja, the top of US Africa Command confirmed {that a} small staff of US navy officers had been in Nigeria, targeted on intelligence assist.
Nigeria is dealing with a protracted struggle with dozens of native armed teams more and more battling for turf, together with the homegrown Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
There’s additionally the ISIL-linked Lakurawa, in addition to different “bandit” teams that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and unlawful mining.
Just lately, the disaster worsened to incorporate different fighters from the neighbouring Sahel area, together with the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first assault on Nigerian soil final yr.
A number of thousand folks in Nigeria have been killed, in line with knowledge from the United Nations.
Whereas Christians have been amongst these focused, analysts and residents say nearly all of victims of the armed teams are Muslims within the Muslim-dominated north, the place most assaults happen.
Nigeria’s 240 million persons are evenly break up between Christians, primarily within the south, and Muslims, principally within the north.
