US deploys troops to train Nigerian forces in fight against terrorism

The United States will deploy 200 troops to Nigeria to train its armed forces in their fight against terrorist groups, Nigerian and US officials said on Tuesday, as Washington increases military cooperation with the West African country.

"We are getting US troops to assist in training and technical support," Major General Samaila Uba, a spokesman for Nigeria's Defense Headquarters, told AFP.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the deployment, which will supplement a US small team already in the country to aid the Nigerians with air strike targeting.

The additional troops, expected to arrive in the coming weeks, will provide "training and technical guidance", including helping their Nigerian counterparts coordinate operations that involve air strikes and ground troops simultaneously, the US daily said.

Diplomatic pressure

A US Africa Command spokeswoman confirmed the details of the report to AFP.

Nigeria has been under diplomatic pressure from the United States over insecurity in the country, which US President Donald Trump has characterised as "persecution" and "genocide" against Christians.

Although there are instances where Christians are targeted, Muslims are also killed en masse, with Trump's senior advisor on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, saying last year, Boko Haram and Daesh terrorists "are killing more Muslims than Christians."

Abuja rejects allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria, a framing long used by the US.

So do independent analysts, who point to a broader state failure to curb violence from terror groups and armed gangs across swaths of sparsely governed countryside.

International collaboration

Despite the diplomatic pressure, Nigeria and the United States have found common ground in increasing military collaboration.

The US targeted terrorists in northwest Sokoto state with strikes in December in a joint operation with Nigeria, officials from both countries said.

Going forward, the US military has said it will supply intelligence for Nigerian air strikes and work to expedite arms purchases.

While the 200-troop deployment represents a scaling up of that collaboration, "US troops aren't going to be involved in direct combat or operations," Uba told the Journal.

Nigeria requested the additional assistance, he added.

Africa's most populous country is battling a long-running terrorism concentrated in its northeast, while non-ideological "bandit" gangs conduct kidnappings for ransom and loot villages in the northwest.