Merkel visiting Ethiopia as state of emergency unfolds

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Ethiopia, where her meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to focus on the country's newly declared state of emergency and other issues including migration, according to ABC News.

This East African country, one of Africa's best-performing economies, declared its first state of emergency in a quarter-century on Sunday, after months of protests demanding wider freedoms.

Merkel's African tour, with stops earlier this week in Mali and Niger, is meant to highlight the global migration crisis and discuss security issues.

German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer has said Merkel will also "of course clearly address human rights" in Ethiopia.

The deaths of more than 50 people last week in a stampede after police tried to disperse protesters led to a week of more demonstrations. One American was killed in a rock attack.

At least 400 people have been killed in anti-government protests over the past year, human rights groups and opposition activists have said. The protesters have been demanding more freedoms from a government that has been accused of being increasingly authoritarian.

Source: MENA