Macedonia detains ethnic 'Albanian Militants' after deadly clashes

(Vatican Radio) Authorities in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia have jailed 30 people captured in weekend gun battles in a northern town that left at least 22 police and suspected ethnic Albanian militants dead. The detentions come at a time of heightened political tension in the small Balkan nation.

Click below to listen to our correspondant Stefan Bos' report:

Officials say those jailed face terrorism-related charges including participating in the fighting that killed eight police and also injured 37 people in the northern town of Kumanovo. The clashes rocked Kumanovo, which has a mixed population of Macedonians and minority ethnic Albanians. Footage has emerged showing the worst gun battles since 2001 when an ethnic Albanian insurgency nearly developed into all-out civil war.

Authorities say 18 Kosovo residents, 11 Macedonians - two of whom were living in Kosovo - and one Albanian have been ordered detained for 30 days, the maximum period allowed under Macedonian law. It can then be renewed until the suspects go to trial.

ETHNIC GROUPS

No group has claimed responsibility for the clashes, but Macedonian authorities have linked them to ethnic Albanian paramilitary groups that fought Serbian and Macedonian forces in the area in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The fighting came as Macedonia faces its deepest political crisis since independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, amid opposition claims that the conservative government tapped the phones of 20,000 people, including police, judges, religious leaders, journalists and foreign diplomats. The government denies that, blaming the wiretaps on unspecified foreign spies.

The United States and European Union are among countries warning the government that its perceived reluctance to address the allegations will undermine Macedonia's progress towards EU and NATO membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said authorities shouldn't use the clashes to take away attention from the scandal.

EU CONCERNED

"We are all concerned what has happened at the weekend. We each all parties and actors to collaborate in verifying what has happened. And to act united on this issue," he said. "This attack cannot and should not distract from the very serious internal political situation,"he told reporters. Ethnic Albanians comprise roughly a quarter of the Macedonia's 2.1 million people, and the political tensions and clashes have raised concern about a possible wider ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslav republic.