The third and final piece of the Axum obelisk is now back in Ethiopia, having arrived early this morning. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was at Axum airport to witness the arrival of the last piece of the obelisk.

“I am very happy,” the Prime Minister said.

"This is not only a piece of stone, this is a whole symbol of identity," he said as he boarded the plane with his wife and Italian officials to inspect the cargo.

"It is the end of a very bad chapter," he added.

A gala celebration is to take place later today and then preparations will begin in to re-erect the 160 tonne monument at its original site, some 68 years after Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini ordered its removal.

The final section – the base of the obelisk – now joins the first two which arrived back in Ethiopian last week amid great celebrations.

ENDS