Trump embraces ‘Christian genocide’ claim and ordered Tomahawk strikes in Nigeria

President Trump took up claims of a "Christian genocide" in Nigeria after meetings with U.S. Christian activists and Republican lawmakers and, on Christmas Day, ordered Tomahawk missile strikes on targets in northwest Nigeria. The strikes capped a yearslong campaign by religious activists, conservative lawmakers and public figures to persuade Washington that Nigerian Christians are being persecuted.

Activists pushed to return Nigeria to the State Department’s Country of Particular Concern list after the Biden administration removed it in 2021; Nina Shea said the goal was to "break through the narrative that this was not religious based." Supporters pointed to brutal attacks such as the June massacre in Yelwata, where about 200 civilians were killed, as proof of targeted attacks on Christians, while experts and U.S.

officials said thousands are killed annually in Nigeria and victims include both Christians and Muslims amid complex violence over land, kidnappings, sectarian tensions and terrorism. The Trump administration moved from offering U.S. intelligence to Nigeria for strikes to deploying a Navy destroyer to the Gulf of Guinea, which by Dec.

24 was positioned to fire Tomahawks. Mr. Trump delayed the strikes until Christmas; the missiles, valued at about $32 million, struck northwest Nigeria.

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