INTERNATIONAL

US freezes $160m aids to Burkina Faso after coup

The US State Department has announced that it is freezing nearly $160m (£118m) in foreign aid to Burkina Faso.

The announcement follows a detailed assessment of the events leading to the overthrow of President Roch Kaboré in late January.

It comes weeks after both the African Union and West African regional bloc Ecowas suspended Burkina Faso as a member state.

Under US law, any release of funds to Burkina Faso will now be conditional on verified steps towards a return to civilian rule.

The armed forces had linked the seizure of power with former President Kaboré’s inability to curb an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced at least 1.5 million people to flee their homes.

The leader of the coup, Lt.Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba recently anointed himself president. He was trained in warfare both in the US and France.

BBC

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