5 days ago
Outrage as Trump slaps travel ban on 7 African nations
African nations and citizens decry US travel ban affecting seven countries on the continent.
AU warns that the ban will damage decades of diplomatic and educational ties with Washington.
Trump cites an unrelated attack by an Egyptian man, though Egypt is not on the list.
African authorities and citizens expressed shock and dismay on Thursday over the abrupt decision by the Trump administration to impose travel bans on people from a string of countries on the continent.
African nations made up seven of the 12 countries banned from entering the United States under the decree signed on Wednesday by President Donald Trump.
They are Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.
The African Union (AU) said in a statement that the ban would harm 'people-to-people ties, educational exchange, commercial engagement, and broader diplomatic relations' built with the US over decades.
It appealed to Washington to adopt a 'consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned'.
Trump said the move was spurred by an attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado by an Egyptian man, even though Egypt was not included in the travel ban.
He also imposed a ban on travellers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen.
Chad's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul told AFP the government was 'surprised by this announcement and even more by the terrorism-related reason (which) completely disregards Chad's commitment and results in this area.'
In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the government did not immediately respond to the ban, but there was anger on the streets.
'I totally disagree with the president of the United States' decision,' one resident, Salad Abdullahi Mohamed, told AFP.
Somali immigrants reached there after a long hazardous trip to get a better life.
Salad Abdullahi Mohamed
Another resident, Ali Abdullahi Ali, agreed that Somali migrants were simply looking 'to make a better living and help their parents'.
'I would call on the president to make this decision null and void and also give necessary documents to stay and continue living and working there,' he added.
