Ethiopian strongman and Western ally, Meles, dies
Source: Reuters
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA | Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:41am EDT
(Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, regarded by the West as a bulwark against Islamic militancy, died overnight in a Brussels hospital after a long battle with illness.
Speculation that Meles, 57, an ally of Washington who twice sent troops into neighboring Somalia to help crush rebellions, was seriously ill had grown after he failed to attend an African Union summit in Addis Ababa last month.
State media said Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn would be sworn in as acting prime minister by parliament.
"The prime minister passed away around midnight. It's time for his remains to come back," government spokesman and Meles' right-hand-man, Bereket Simon, told reporters on Tuesday.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-ethiopia-meles-idUSBRE87K04K20120821
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