A US State Department spokesperson says the US has halted nearly $160 million in U.S. aid to Burkina Faso after determining the January removal of President Roch Kabore constituted a military coup.

The decision was made in line with a U.S. law under which U.S. foreign aid – except funds to promote democracy – must be stopped to a country whose elected head of government is deposed by military coup or in a coup in which the military plays a decisive role.

Atiewin Mbillah-Lawson reports.