Category World News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan claimed that China had put pressure on the East African nation to implement the measures, and that now the ban applies to all Taiwanese passport holders.

The self-ruled island’s government, claimed by China, claimed that Somalia’s civil aviation authority had last week made a statement about the new policy that went into effect on Wednesday night.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for the Somali government to revoke the notice, stating that it had been strongly protested by the country’s government’s policy to restrict Taiwanese nationals’ ability to travel freely and safely.

The ministry also cited Somalia’s reference to UN Resolution 2758, which in 1971 urged member states to appoint Beijing as the “only lawful representatives of China” as its “only legitimate representatives.”

The “misinterpretation” of the UN resolution by Somalia was “firmly rejected and condemned,” the UN resolution’s author asserting that Mogadishu had used it to “create the false impression that Taiwan was a part of the People’s Republic of China.”

The move comes as Taiwan’s ties with Somaliland, a breakaway nation that declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but is still unrecognised by the majority of the world, are deepening.

In Mogadishu, there is resentment over the two self-governing territories’ de facto embassies opening in their respective capitals in 2020.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the decision was a legitimate step to advance Somalia’s interests and demonstrated that “Sofia firmly adheres to the one China principle.” Beijing “highly applauds” the decision, he added, and pledges to support Mogadishu’s claim to Somaliland.

He added that China opposes “any kind of official exchange” between Somaliland and Taiwan.

limited recognition

Taiwan, which is known as the Republic of China, lost its UN seat to China in 1971, the year before it was expelled from the World Health Organization.

While only 11 nations and the Vatican formally recognize Taiwan as a state, many nations, including the United States, maintain close, unofficial ties.

Taiwan is considered to be part of China’s territory, and it is not a foregone conclusion to use force to conquer it.

The travel ban in Somalia is unlikely to have a significant impact, according to Taiwan’s state news agency Focus Taiwan, pointing out that Taiwanese citizens only rarely travel there.

Joint airstrikes by American and British forces have been conducted near Yemen’s capital Sanaa, allegedly targeting what British authorities claim are Houthi armed group drone factories.

The UK offered a detailed justification for the start of the strike on Wednesday morning, in contrast to the US, which only provided a few details about the hundreds of strikes it has carried out since March 15 when it first launched its renewed campaign.

The British Ministry of Defence claims that the strikes, which took place overnight, took place 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of Sanaa and hit buildings that had been identified by UK intelligence as being used to manufacture drones.

No details were given, but the ministry claimed the operation was intended to reduce casualties for civilians.

The US has not yet made a comment on the joint operation, despite having repeatedly attacked Houthi targets in the past month.

As long as they continue to target shipping in the Red Sea, US President Donald Trump ordered the military to launch “decisive and powerful” strikes on the Houthis in mid-March.

The strikes have “killed Houthi fighters and leaders… and degrading their capabilities,” according to the Pentagon, which have hit more than 1, 000 targets across Yemen since then.

However, more people are concerned about casualties in the military.

68 people were killed when a recent US strike hit a detention facility housing African migrants, according to Houthi-affiliated media.

In addition, Sanaa-based rights organization Mwatana for Human Rights claims to have found hundreds of additional civilian casualties in recent US attacks.

Yemeni civilians have been the targets of arbitrary and disproportionate attacks by warring parties for more than ten years, according to Mwatana chairwoman Radhya al-Mutawakel.

They now find themselves potential targets of US forces’ attacks, she continued, “at a time when they were hoping to see an end to this bloody chapter of their lives.”

The Pentagon is aware of claims of civilian casualties from the strike from Monday, according to an unnamed US defense official who spoke to Reuters.