Obama Chides And Praises Ethiopian Hosts

Barack Obama has criticised Ethiopian leaders for crackdowns on press freedom and political opposition, while praising their fight against the Islamist militant group al Shabaab.

Mr Obama - who is making the first-ever trip by a US president to the Horn of Africa nation - faced a delicate balancing act during Monday's news conference.

As well as maintaining security ties, he hopes to expand American business relationships with a country once defined by poverty and famine, but now basking in double-digit economic growth rates that are the envy of the world.

Alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Mr Obama said: "When all voices are being heard, when people know they are being included in the political process that makes a country more successful."

He also praised the country as an "outstanding partner" against al Shabaab.

"We don't need to send our own Marines in to do the fighting," the US President said. "The Ethiopians are tough fighters."

Ethiopia contributes troops to the African Union peacekeeping force that is battling al Shabaab.

The militant group has launched attacks in Kenya, but diplomats say Ethiopia's security agencies have prevented similar assaults.

Mr Obama also convened a meeting on Monday of African Union leaders on South Sudan, which has been beset for months by civil war .

Human rights groups warned the US presidential visit could serve to "sanitise" Ethiopia's authoritarian government.

In May's general election, Ethiopia's governing party won 100% of seats in a vote which raised doubts about political openness.

But Mr Obama compared his visit to Addis Ababa to US engagement with China, another nation with a much-criticised human rights record.

Ethiopia's prime minister defended his "fledgling democracy" at Monday's news conference.

Mr Desalegn said: "We are coming out of centuries of undemocratic practices."

Ethiopia jails more journalists than any other nation in Africa apart from neighbouring Eritrea, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

But standing alongside the US President, Mr Desalegn said his government welcomed media scrutiny.

"For us it's very important to be criticised," he said, "because we also get feedback to correct our mistakes."

The US President arrived in Ethiopia on Sunday night after leaving Kenya, and had an arrival ceremony at the National Palace in Addis Ababa.

In Kenya, his father's birthplace, he urged leaders to keep up the fight against corruption and to end exclusion based on gender or ethnicity.