Alwaght- A government based in eastern Libya said on Wednesday it would bar entry to US citizens after President Donald Trump's administration included Libya in a new travel ban.
Announcing its ban, the eastern-based government said it was responding 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".
The eastern-based government of Abdullah al-Thinni is aligned with Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar and is opposed to the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.
Citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen are facing new restrictions in travelling to the US based on the latest proclamation signed by Trump. The new rules, announced on Sunday, will go into effect on October 18.
The range of restrictions imposed on each state is different, for example in the case of Venezuela, only certain government officials and their families are affected.
They range from an indefinite ban on visas for citizens from countries such as Syria to more targeted restrictions.
The Republican president’s ban has been challenged in courts and censured by human rights activists on multiple occasions.