Why has US expanded travel ban to Chad and removed Sudan?

President Trump’s proclamation will come as a surprise to many Lake Chad Basin watchers, but US intelligence suggests that Chadian authorities have not been sharing information relating to public safety and terrorism with their US counterparts.

They also said that Chad, a mainly Muslim country, was a haven for jihadist groups but among the Lake Chad Basin nations, it has suffered the fewest attacks from Boko Haram militants.

There is little to indicate that the activity of these groups in Chad is anywhere near as significant as in, for example, Nigeria, which recently received US support in an arms and aircraft deal.

Chad has been, in Washington’s words, “an important and valuable” partner in the fight against Islamist militancy and its capital Ndjamena is home to the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) formed to tackle Boko Haram.