(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Thousands of mourners gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday (August 21), as the body of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was flown home after his death in Brussels.<br/> <br />Meles's relatives wept as the coffin was unloaded from the aircraft.<br/> <br />Outside the airport terminal, well-wishers huddled in the rain and carried placards to pay their respects.<br/> <br />The prime minister's death ended months of rumour that he was gravely ill.<br/> <br />Supporters mourned him as the saviour of a long-suffering nation, but opponents hailed the death of an autocrat one group described as a "genocidal tyrant".<br/> <br />Meles seized power 21 years ago from a military junta.<br/> <br />He formed part of a generation of ex-guerrillas that came to power in the 1980s and 1990s after ethnic civil wars and brought economic improvements and relative peace.<br/> <br />Details of the state funeral are expected to be announced later.
