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                  Mourners Attend Funeral of Ethiopia's Meles

   by VOA News

   A host of African heads of state have joined thousands of mourners at a
   state funeral for Ethiopia's longtime leader Meles Zenawi.
   Dignitaries including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Ugandan President
   Yoweri Museveni and former South African president Thabo Mbeki are
   among the speakers at Sunday's funeral in the capital, Addis Ababa.
   Washington sent a delegation led by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.
   Meles died in Belgium last month following a lengthy illness. He ruled
   Ethiopia for more than 20 years, after the rebel alliance he led, the
   EPRDF (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front) seized power
   in 1991.
   The late prime minister Meles earned praise abroad for improvements in
   the economy, education and health care. But human rights groups sharply
   criticized him for various abuses, including restrictions on
   independent media.
   He will be buried at Trinity Church alongside other prominent Ethiopian
   leaders, including former emperor Haile Selassie.
   Under Meles, Ethiopia fought a border war with Eritrea and sent troops
   to Somalia to fight Islamist militants.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/mourners_attend_funeral_of_ethiopias_
   meles/1500127.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mourners_attend_funeral_of_ethiopias_meles/1500127.html