Mali, Burkina Faso impose travel ban on US citizens

Mali and Burkina Faso have said they are imposing a travel ban on US citizens in response to an equivalent measure announced by the Trump administration, reports the Daily Monitor. In separate statements issued by their foreign ministries, the two West African countries said they were acting in the name of ‘reciprocity’ after the White House announced on 16 December that US President Donald Trump was adding them and five other countries to a list of those subject to a full travel ban. The White House said the expanded ban which took effect on 1 January, applied to ‘countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the nation from national security and public safety threats’. Mali said that Washington's decision to add it to the travel ban list had been taken without prior consultation and that the stated rationale was not justified by ‘actual developments on the ground’. Mali and Burkina Faso are not the first countries to take such measures affecting US citizens after being targeted by Trump's travel restrictions. On 25 December neighbouring Niger announced it would stop issuing visas to US citizens, the country's state media agency reported, citing a Nigerien diplomatic source. In June, Chad announced it was suspending visa issuance to US citizens after it was included on an earlier list of 12 countries affected by a travel ban.

Full Daily Monitor report