Market News
Exclusive: US conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria after Trump intervention threat - REUTERS
Summary
- US surveillance aircraft typically takes off from Ghana
- Trump has threatened to intervene over attacks on Christians in Nigeria
- Nigeria agrees to US intelligence support against militants
Dec 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. has been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to flight tracking data and current and former U.S. officials, in a sign of increased security cooperation between the countries.
Reuters could not determine what information the flights are meant to obtain.
But the flights in West Africa follow U.S. President Donald Trump's threats in November to militarily intervene in Nigeria over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities. The flights also are occurring just months after a U.S. pilot working for a missionary agency was kidnapped in neighboring Niger.
