
Flags at schools, police stations and all public buildings were set at half-mast. The coffin containing the body of the 57-year-old, who died tuesday night after several weeks of medical treatment abroad, was flown back to addis ababa late tuesday evening on a plane operated by the national airline ethiopian airlines.
Thousands of people in tears lined the roadside as the corpse was driven in a black car from the airport to the government palace. The coffin was draped in the green-yellow-red athiopian flag. Many people put pictures of the deceased in the air. Funeral music played continuously on television and radio, in cafes and shops. The date for the funeral has not yet been set.