Nigeria's government rejected on Wednesday its designation by the United States as a "country of particular concern" over alleged religious freedom violations, saying the move was based on misinformation and faulty data.

American forces are unlikely to be able to end a decades-long insurgency in Africa’s most populous country, despite President Trump’s order, officials said.

China’s Foreign Ministry has responded to President Donald Trump’s threat of military action over what he called the “mass slaughter” of Nigerian Christians, criticizing his remarks as a "wanton" threat of force.

The secretary of state is responsible for deeming a country a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC). Other countries designated as CPCs include Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

By Colleen Goko, Chijioke Ohuocha and Duncan Miriri JOHANNESBURG/LAGOS (Reuters) -Nigeria raised $2.25 billion in a bond sale on Wednesday as markets largely shrugged off threats from U.S. President Donald Trump of potential military action in the country.

Nigeria is planning to sell $2.3 billion in eurobonds as soon as this week, testing investor appetite for the debt days after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Islamist militants in the country and sparked a selloff.

A Nigerian government official says the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump cannot unilaterally carry out any military operation in Nigeria over its claims of Christian persecution in the West African country.

It’s still unclear what — if anything — the administration will do to counter Islamic militants in Nigeria, but precision drone strikes are among the preliminary options being considered.

President Donald Trump was heading to Florida on Friday, watching Fox News, when he saw the network run a story on how Christians were being targeted by Islamic groups in Nigeria, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Donald Trump has threatened to send US troops into Nigeria “guns blazing” unless the African nation does more to end the “horrible atrocities” being committed against Christians.