Merkel visiting Ethiopia as state of emergency unfolds

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  German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a press briefing with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, after her arrival at Bamako, Mali, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. Merkel is on a three day tour in Africa, visiting, Mali, Niger, and Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Baba Ahmed)  (The Associated Press)

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia –  German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Ethiopia and plans to meet with its prime minister on issues including the country's newly declared state of emergency.

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

Merkel's African tour is meant to highlight the global migration crisis and security issues. Ethiopia is one of the world's largest hosts of refugees, with hundreds of thousands having fled from nearby Somalia, South Sudan and elsewhere.

But a German government spokeswoman says Merkel will also "of course clearly address human rights" in Ethiopia.

The deaths of more than 50 people in a protest-linked stampede last week led to a week of demonstrations. Read more here