Pictures: Ethiopians mourn as the body of Meles Zenawi arrive

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Friday, August 24th, 2012

Ethiopian army soldiers escort the body of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the presidential palace as it arrives at Addis Ababa International Airport, Wednesday,Aug. 22, 2012. Zenawi, Ethiopia’s long-time ruler who held tight control over this East African country but was a major U.S counter-terrorism ally, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in public for weeks. He was 57. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)

Soldiers lineup as the casket of Meles Zenawi travels from the airport to the presidential palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia’s long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks, Ethiopian authorities said Tuesday. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)

Ethiopians gather on the street of Addis Ababa early morning to mourn as the body of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived in the Addis Ababa , Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia’s long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)

Thousands of Ethiopians gather in a street to mourn as the body of Meles Zenawi arrived in the Addis, Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia’s long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks, Ethiopian authorities said Tuesday. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)

People react to the death of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi along the streets of Bahir Dar, near lake Tana in northwestern Ethiopia, August 22, 2012. Zenawi, regarded by the West as a bulwark against Islamic militancy, died while being treated abroad for an undisclosed illness, the government said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Siegfried Modolwp_posts