Latest news with #N'Djamena
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Chad announces suspension of visas to US citizens in response to Trump travel ban
N'DJAMENA: Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby has announced that his country will suspend the issuing of visas to US citizens in response to the Trump administration's decision to ban Chadians from visiting the United States. President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term when he announced the visa ban on 12 countries including Chad, accusing them of having 'deficient' screening and vetting, and historically refusing to take back their own citizens who overstay in the United States. The new ban targets Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. There will also be heightened restrictions on visitors from seven others in the new travel policy, which takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. In a Facebook post, Chad's president on Thursday said he is directing his government to suspend visas to US citizens 'in accordance with the principles of reciprocity.' 'Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride,' Deby said, referring to the $400 million luxury plane offered to his administration as a gift by the ruling family of Qatar. Republic of Congo calls the ban a mistake The new travel policy has triggered varied reactions from Africa, whose countries make up seven of the 12 countries affected by Trump's outright visa ban with some exemptions. In the Republic of Congo, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said he believes the country was among those affected because of a 'misunderstanding' over an armed attack in the US with the perpetrators 'mistaken' to be from the Republic of Congo. 'Obviously, Congo is not a terrorist country, is not home to any terrorist, is not known to have a terrorist vocation. So we think that this is a misunderstanding and I believe that in the coming hours, the competent diplomatic services of the government will contact the American authorities here,' he said in the capital of Brazzaville. In Sierra Leone, among countries with heightened travel restrictions, Information Minister Chernor Bah said the country is committed to addressing the concerns that prompted the ban. 'We will work with US authorities to ensure progress,' he added.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Chad announces suspension of visas to US citizens in response to Trump travel ban
N'DJAMENA, Chad — Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Thursday announced that his country will suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens in response to the Trump administration's decision to ban Chadians from visiting the U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term when he announced the visa ban on 12 countries including Chad, accusing them of having 'deficient' screening and vetting, and historically refusing to take back their own citizens who overstay in the United States.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Chad suspends visa issuance to US citizens over travel ban
N'DJAMENA, June 5 (Reuters) - Chad suspended visa issuance to U.S. citizens on Thursday after its nationals were included in a U.S. travel ban targeting 12 countries, President Idriss Deby said in a Facebook post. "I have instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens," Deby said. "Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has its dignity and pride," Deby added, making reference to Qatar's gift of a $400 million airplane to U.S. President Donald Trump. Chad is among seven African countries on the list of 12 included in the U.S. administration's travel ban.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
British law chief seeking arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu 'accused of hotel sex assault on female colleague hours before war crimes speech to UN'
The British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court allegedly sexually assaulted a female colleague in a hotel room in Africa just hours before making an impassioned speech, via video-link, to the United Nations. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Karim Khan KC, the barrister bringing a controversial war crimes case against Israel, is alleged to have coerced the woman into having non-consensual sex with him during an official trip to Chad, where he met victims of sexual violence. The alleged incident is said to have happened at the Radisson Blu hotel in N'Djamena, Chad's capital, when Mr Khan is claimed to have asked the female lawyer to come to his luxury suite, where he held meetings, to review a speech he was due to make remotely to the UN Security Council. It is understood the woman, a lawyer in her 30s, claims she told him multiple times she wanted to leave the room – but that he took her mobile phones and repeatedly pulled her by the arm towards his bed after she stood still. Later that day he briefed the UN about war crimes, including rape, being committed in neighbouring Darfur and about the traumatised refugees he had recently met in two camps on the Sudan border. This newspaper contacted Mr Khan's lawyers about the allegation last Thursday. On Friday it emerged that he had temporarily stepped down from his position. Mr Khan, 55, controversially announced he was seeking the arrests of Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024 – two weeks after learning the colleague had made serious allegations of sexual misconduct against him. An external investigation by a UN watchdog was launched six months later and is understood to be examining multiple allegations of sexual assault. The woman told investigators that Mr Khan performed non-consensual sex acts with her during a string of foreign trips including to New York, Colombia and Paris over an 11-month period. Mr Khan, through his lawyers, said it was 'categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind'. The MoS can this weekend reveal that the woman also claims Mr Khan assaulted her at least ten times in his office at the ICC in The Hague. It is understood she alleges that during each of these assaults he locked both of the doors in his office before molesting her. It is also claimed he ordered court staff to fully 'frost' the window between his office and the corridor – so no one could see inside. It is understood the alleged victim claims this happened less than two weeks after she tried to avoid being touched by him by using the excuse that someone walking past could see their legs and feet through the glass, which was then only partially frosted. It is understood Mr Khan was interviewed by investigators about the allegations nine days ago in The Hague. There are, however, mounting concerns over the transparency of the probe, which is being carried out by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services. Sources say the final report, which will be sent to the president of the court's governing body, will not be made public and nor will it be made available to countries which make up the court, including the UK. There are also questions over why Mr Khan stepped aside only two days ago, given the investigation was launched six months ago. It is understood investigators are examining allegations that he previously engaged in witness intimidation. An ICC source said: 'What makes it so astonishing to me is that in any other institution or work place this would be dealt with so differently.' The alleged assault in Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, is said to have taken place on January 29 last year. Days earlier Mr Khan had visited the Farchana and Adre camps, where thousands of refugees have fled following years of bloodshed in Darfur, Sudan. The MoS understands the woman feared resisting further would spark a retaliation from him and jeopardise her career. On occasions when she did manage to avoid him, it is understood she claims Mr Khan rebuked her for not doing her job properly. Speaking to the UN Security Council, hours after the alleged assault, he said the world faced a 'pandemic of inhumanity'. Last Sunday the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Khan faced 'multiple allegations of coerced sexual intercourse' involving the same woman. It also reported an allegation that he tried to get the alleged victim to retract her claims over fears it would harm the ICC's investigation into the Gaza conflict, saying: 'Think about the Palestinian arrest warrants.' One of the alleged assaults described in the article is said to have taken place during a trip to Bogota, Colombia in April 2024. The MoS understands this is alleged to have taken place at a luxury Four Seasons hotel and that the woman claims she tried to avoid meeting with him by pretending she had altitude sickness and needed to sleep. It is understood the woman claims that, despite her protests, he arrived at her hotel room and allegedly lay down next to her and assaulted her – even though she was pretending to be asleep. Another alleged incident, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is said to have taken place in his corner suite at the Millennium Hilton hotel in New York, just yards from the UN's headquarters. It is claimed she was in his room to discuss a work matter but when she tried to leave several times, he allegedly pulled her towards the bed, pulled off her trousers and had non-consensual sex with her. The ICC said in a statement on Friday that Mr Khan had 'communicated his decision to take leave until the end' of the investigation. Lawyers representing Mr Khan last night said he was 'cooperating fully and transparently' with the misconduct investigation and that there were 'significant constraints' on what he can say while it is ongoing. They said he had requested in October 2024 that an investigation take place after the matter had been closed by ICC officials. 'Our client does wish to make clear, however, that it is categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind,' the lawyers said.
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Opposition Leader Is Arrested in Chad, Accused of Inciting Violence
A major opposition leader and former prime minister of Chad was arrested early Friday, fueling fears of another crackdown on dissent in a country that has repeatedly used state power to silence critics. The politician, Succès Masra, was arrested on charges of incitement to hatred and revolt, complicity in murder and the desecration of graves, Chad's prosecutor, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, said, in connection with an outbreak of violence between communities this week that killed dozens of women and children. Civil society and political activists have recently faced imprisonment, torture, intimidation and death at the hands of Chad's security forces. Supporters of Mr. Masra, Chad's best-known opposition figure and leader of the Transformers political party, saw his arrest as a part of that pattern, and in hundreds of social media posts, they clamored for the government to let him go. 'We demand his unconditional release,' wrote one of them, Robine Zita, on his Facebook page. 'Rise up, Transformers, for the immediate liberation of our president,' wrote another, Sabine Denehybe. Parts of Africa have become increasingly tough places to be an opposition politician. On Tuesday, Mali's military junta announced it was dissolving all political parties in the country, and last month, one of its most vocal detractors was arrested after criticizing the country's military rulers. Also last month, Ivory Coast's main opposition leader, Tidjane Thiam, was barred from running in the coastal country's upcoming presidential election over his French citizenship — despite having relinquished it in order to run. In Chad, a landlocked country in north-central Africa, Mr. Masra was taken from his residence by men in military uniforms at 5 a.m. local time, the secretary general of the Transformers said in a statement, calling the arrest an 'abduction' because no court summons was produced. Later, the party released another statement on its Facebook page, saying its leaders and Mr. Masra's lawyers had been able to see him, and calling on the party's supporters to stay calm and await instructions. The prosecutor, Mr. Kedelaye, linked Mr. Masra to a deadly attack this week on villagers in the southwest province of Logone Occidental, where there has been rising conflict between herders and farmers in recent years. At a news conference on Friday, Mr. Kedelaye said the opposition leader had broadcast messages on social networks 'calling on the population to arm themselves against other citizens.' The prosecutor did not specify the inciting messages he accused Mr. Masra of sending, and a review of Mr. Masra's Facebook and X accounts did not find any. He did, however, express condolences for the bereaved families and said that the cause of the conflict in Logone Occidental was not clear. His post ended: 'The life of no Chadian should be trivialized.' Remadji Hoinathy, a senior researcher focused on Central Africa and the Lake Chad Basin at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, said that he would withhold judgment until the prosecutor presented any evidence it has against Mr. Masra. 'We're waiting to see it,' he said. But, he said, it was a complex situation, and Chad's government has a pattern of using the judicial apparatus against opponents. 'These events can't be separated from the government's desire to pressure and silence opponents who, until now, have stood up to it,' he added. A previous opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, said in 2021 that security forces had killed several members of his family in a failed attempt to arrest him. Mr. Dillo was killed in a gun battle last year with security forces at his party headquarters in the capital, N'Djamena. Later that year, the country's longtime dictator, Idriss Déby, was killed on the battlefield as government forces and a rebel group clashed in the north. His son, Mahamat Déby, seized power at the head of a military junta. Mr. Dillo was expected to run for president last year against the younger Mr. Déby. Mr. Masra was a fierce critic of the Déby dynasty, but last year, the president named him prime minister five months before a presidential election. Many Chadians accused him of deep betrayal when he joined the regime, but Mr. Masra then ran against the president who had appointed him. Mahamat Déby was declared the winner of that contest, but civil society groups dismissed it as a sham, and Mr. Masra claimed to be the rightful winner.
