Ethiopian leader Meles dies aged 57

Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi, who has not been seen in public for weeks, has died at the age of 57 of an undisclosed illness.

The country’s communications minister Bereket Simon said Mr Meles was out of the country having treatment. He will be replaced by his deputy Hailemariam Desalegn.

Mr Meles became president of the country in 1991 after helping to oust Mengistu Haile Mariam’s Communist military junta, which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian deaths, and became prime minister — head of the federal government and armed forces — in 1995.

Despite being regarded as a strong partner by the US, Ethiopia has long been criticised by human rights groups for the government’s strict control of its people.