Mahamat Idriss Itno, Chad president
The Central African country was one of 12 nations affected by a Donald Trump travel ban
Trump said the ban was in the interest of national security.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Itno hit back at Trump with a matching visa ban.
“I instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to citizens of the United States of America,” the Chadian leader said.
“Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride.”
With seven of the 12 countries on the list, Africa is the continent worst hit by Trump’s travel ban.
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Yemen, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Equatorial Guinea.
The ban also imposed heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
However, the order also said the secretary of state may grant exemptions on a “case-by-case” basis.
The African Union (AU) said it was “concerned about the potential negative impact” of the measures and called on the US to adopt “a more consultative approach” with the countries concerned.
