News / North Africa

In tit-for-tat move, Libya's Tobruk-based govt. bans US citizens entry

Wednesday, 27 September 2017 5:56 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 27 September 2017 6:12 PM ]

People exit the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017, where they were met by activists protesting President Donald Trump's ban temporarily barring citizens of Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US. (Photo by AFP)

The Libyan government based in the eastern city of Tobruk has announced that it would deny entry to American citizens in a tit-for-tat move after the administration of US President Donald Trump put Libya on a new list of countries targeted by Washington's travel ban.

Libya currently has two governments: one based in the capital Tripoli, and the other based in Tobruk.

The Tobruk-based government, headed by Abdullah al-Thinni, is aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar and is opposed to the Tripoli-based, internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

The eastern-based government said on Wednesday that the ban was in response to "a dangerous escalation that targets Libyan citizens and puts them in the same basket as the terrorists against whom our... armed forces are fighting."

It was not clear when or how the Libyan ban would be enforced.

Based on the latest proclamation signed by Trump on Sunday, citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen will face new restrictions in traveling to the United States.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, September 26, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

President Trump has come under fire by rights groups over his controversial travel restrictions. Some argue that the new ban is the same old Muslim ban in disguise.

The US president announced the new restrictions as the previous ban, which targeted Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Somalia and Libya, was approaching its 90-day expiry.

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