The United States has deployed a small team of military specialists to Nigeria after both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat in West Africa, the top U.S. commander for the region said on Feb. 3.
Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said during a digital news briefing that the team would provide “unique capabilities” to assist Nigerian forces battling extremist groups.
It is unclear when the team arrived in Nigeria. Anderson said the move followed his meeting with Nigeria’s president last year.
In November, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened possible military intervention, citing what he described as the Nigerian government’s failure to stop the persecution of Christians by Islamist terrorists. At the time, Nigeria said Washington was ready to deepen cooperation, including intelligence sharing and speeding up defense equipment requests….