Chad retaliates against Trump’s travel ban, suspends issuance of visa for US citizens

Mahamat Idriss Itno, the president of Chad has suspended the issuance of visa to all United States (US) nationals in response to a travel ban imposed by US president, Donald Trump.

Itno confirmed this via a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, June 5.

The post read, “I instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to citizens of the United States of America (USA).

“Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride.”

Chad was among 12 countries targeted by the US travel restrictions, which Trump justified on national security grounds.

Africa was disproportionately impacted by the original US measure, with seven of the affected countries located on the continent.

Countries listed under the travel ban include Chad, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, Libya, and Equatorial Guinea.

Additional restrictions were also placed on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The US order included a provision allowing the secretary of state to grant individual exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

The African Union (AU) expressed concern over the potential negative consequences of the policy and urged the US to engage in a more consultative dialogue with the countries involved.