US President Donald Trump has said there could be more strikes by the US in Nigeria if Christians are killed in the African nation, even as Nigeria has previously denied that Christians there are subjected to systematic persecution.
Trump's comments, made in an interview with The New York Times, were published on the newspaper's website on Thursday.
Trump made the remarks when asked about Washington's Christmas Day military strike in Nigeria.
The US military said at the time it carried out a strike against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government.
Nigeria said that the strike was a "joint operation" targeting "terrorists," and had "nothing to do with a particular religion."
"I'd love to make it a one-time strike ... But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike," Trump was quoted as saying.
When asked about his own Africa adviser, having said that Daesh and Boko Haram militants were killing more Muslims than Christians, Trump responded: "I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it's mostly Christians."
Ongoing operation
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.
While Nigeria has had persistent security problems, including violence and kidnappings by Islamist insurgents in the north, it strongly denies that Christians are subjected to systematic persecution.
Nigerian authorities note that militants have killed many Muslims as well as Christians.
The country’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar recently said the operation was ongoing and stressed that Nigeria had provided intelligence for the strikes, which he described as a joint effort with Washington.
"It is an ongoing thing," Tuggar told Channels TV when asked whether more strikes were expected, adding that "it must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion."
The comments came after US President Donald Trump publicly described the air strikes as a "Christmas present" to Daesh, saying the attack was deliberately timed for symbolic impact.
