Donald Trump, President of United States has warned that Washington could carry out additional airstrikes in Nigeria if what he described as continued killings of Christians persist.

Trump issued the warning in an interview with The New York Times, in which he was asked whether US airstrikes carried out on Christmas Day in Nigeria’s north-western Sokoto State were part of a broader military campaign.

“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 said.

Read also: America vows more pounding for terrorists in Nigeria after first Christmas day strikes

The comments follow Trump’s decision last year to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” citing what he described as an “existential threat” to the country’s Christian population.

The designation drew sharp criticism from Nigerian authorities, who rejected claims that the government was failing to protect Christians from attacks by jihadist groups.

Nigeria’s government has consistently argued that insecurity in the country does not target any single religious group.

Officials say violence carried out by jihadist insurgents, criminal gangs and other armed groups affects Muslims, Christians and people of no faith alike.

Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, had stressed Nigeria’s commitment to diplomatic engagement.

“We will continue to engage constructively and work with partners, including the United States, on the basis of mutual respect, international law, and Nigeria’s sovereignty.

“Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, without discrimination”, he said.

Meanwhile, organisations that monitor political violence in Nigeria have repeatedly stated that the majority of victims of jihadist violence are Muslims, particularly in the country’s northern regions.

When challenged on this point during the interview, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also being killed in Nigeria but insisted that Christians were the primary targets.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria,” he said. “But it’s mostly Christians.”

For more than 15 years, Nigeria’s north-east has been ravaged by a brutal Islamist insurgency led by Boko Haram and Islamic State-affiliated factions operating mainly out of Borno State.

The violence has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Beyond the insurgency, Nigeria faces multiple overlapping security challenges, including mass kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, deadly clashes between farmers and herders over land, and separatist unrest in parts of the south-east.

The US airstrikes carried out on Christmas Day targeted two camps belonging to a jihadist group known as Lakurawa in Sokoto State, a predominantly Muslim area in north-western Nigeria near the border with Niger.

Neither the US nor the Nigerian government has released casualty figures, and no official update has been provided on the outcome of the operation.