Residents Return to Devastated Macedonian Town After Weekend Gunbattle

Residents of Kumanovo’s Divo Naselje neighbourhood were allowed to return to their homes on Monday, May 11, after calm was restored in the northern Macedonian city. Heavy fighting throughout the weekend between police forces and an armed group killed eight policemen and injured dozens more. At least 14 gunmen were killed, with a further 30 placed in detention in the capital Skopje after their surrender.

Over half of those detained are from Kosovo, with a further nine Macedonian citizens and one Albanian. The motives behind the attack are still unclear, but the opposition Social Democrat leader, Zoran Zaev, has expressed suspicion that authorities are stoking ethnic unrest to distract from a political crisis that has sparked widespread protests. Credit: YouTube/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty