North Macedonia: More violence reported at protests

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Thousands marched through the capital for a fifth consecutive night Wednesday protesting a proposal aiming to break a deadlock in North Macedonia's efforts to join the European Union.

Limited violence broke out when a group of people threw stones, chairs and bottles at the protesters, while a 40-year-old man was detained after firing a gun in the air as protesters marched to the foreign ministry, police said. No injuries were reported. Police said they found bullet casings at the scene.

Opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski and the governing social democrats hastily convened news conferences and accused each other of creating such incidents for political gain. Mickoski, who participated in the march, posted a photo on his Facebook account showing a man pointing a gun and claimed the gunman had intended to kill him.

Earlier, police said that violence after the Tuesday night's protest inured 47 police officers, two of them seriously. A group of mostly young people threw stones, metal bars, eggs and petrol bombs at the parliament building.

Thousands of people have protested nightly since the weekend over a French proposal for a compromise aimed at lifting objections by neighboring Bulgaria to North Macedonia joining the European Union.

Police said 11 protesters were detained in Tuesday night's incidents. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski condemned the attacks on the police, saying violence cannot be justified.

Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski visited the injured police officers in a hospital Wednesday. He said an investigation into the instigators of the violence was underway and warned they would face the “strictest possible punishments.”

“We all know very well who is behind the protests and who called for them,” Spasovski said.

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